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GRAINY’S 

WONDERFUL CHAIR 

AND 

Its Tales of Fairy Times 

BY 

FRANCES BROWNE 

II 



E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON NEW YORK INDIANAPOLIS 



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Copyright, 1913 

By E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 


©CI.A357387 


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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I Introductory 1 

II The Christmas Cuckoo .... 23 

III The Lords of the White and Gray 

Castles ... .... 72 

IV The Greedy Shepherd .... 110 
V The Story of Fairyfoot .... 129 

VI The Story of Childe Charity . .162 

VII Sour and Civil 186 

VIII The Story of Merrymind . . . 225 

IX Prince Wisewit’s Return . . . 262 

A Story About the Author . .275 









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PREFACE 


In another edition of this book there 
is a very beautiful design on one of the 
title pages, and these words, written by 
Shakespeare, “This is fairy gold, boys; 
and ’twill prove so.” Perhaps some 
day you may find out for yourselves 
what fairy gold is, and how it differs 
from real gold. But learn this now, as 
you read this book; that there is often 
more truth in fairy stories than at first 
appears. Some of the greatest writers 
that ever lived have enjoyed writing 
fary stories for children, and some of 
the greatest men and women that ever 
lived, no matter how old they grew, 


VI 


PREFACE 


have never outgrown their enjoyment 
in reading them. 

When you have finished the stories in 
this book, you may find you have en- 
joyed them so much that you will want 
to know something about the blind poet 
who wrote them. So, in the last few 
pages, there is a story about her, and in 
many ways it is very like a fairy story. 


Granny’s Wonderful Chair 


CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTORY 

In an old time, long ago, when the 
fairies were in the world, there lived a 
little girl so uncommonly fair and 
pleasant of look, that they called her 
Snowflower. This girl was good as 
well as pretty. No one had ever seen 
her frown or heard her say a cross 
word, and young and old were glad 
when they saw her coming. 

Snowflower had no relation in the 
world but a very old grandmother, 
called Dame Frostyf ace ; people did not 
like her quite so well as her grand- 


2 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


daughter, for she was cross enough at 
times, but always kind to Snowflower; 
and they lived together in a little cot- 
tage built of peat, and thatched with 
reeds, on the edge of a great forest ; tall 
trees sheltered its back from the north 
wind; the mid-day sun made its front 
warm and cheerful; swallows built in 
the eaves; daisies grew thick at the 
door; but there were none in all that 
country poorer than Snowflower and 
hel* grandmother. A cat and two hens 
were all their live-stock: their bed was 
dry grass, and the only good piece of 
furniture in the cottage was a great 
arm-chair with wheels on its feet, a 
black velvet cushion, and many curious 
carvings of flowers and fawns on its 
dark oaken back. 

On that chair Dame Frostyface sat 
spinning from morning till night to 


INTRODUCTORY 


3 


maintain herself and her granddaugh- 
ter, while Snowflower gathered sticks 
for firing, looked after the hens and the 
cat, and did whatever else her grand- 
mother bade her. There was nobody in 
the shire could spin such fine yarn as 
Dame Frostyface, but she spun very 
slowly. Her wheel was as old as her- 
self, and far the more worn ; indeed, the 
wonder was that it did not fall to pieces. 
So the dame’s earnings were small, and 
their living meager. Snowflower, how- 
ever, felt no want of good dinners or 
fine clothes. Every evening, when the 
fire was heaped with the sticks she had 
gathered till it blazed and crackled up 
the cottage chimney, Dame Frostyface 
set aside her wheel, and told her a new 
story. Often did the little girl wonder 
where her grandmother had gathered 
so many stories, but she soon learned 


4 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


that. One sunny morning, at the time 
of the swallows coming, the dame rose 
up, put on the gray hood and mantle 
in which she carried her yarn to the 
fairs, and said, “My child, I am going 
a long journey to visit an aunt of mine, 
who lives far in the north country. I 
cannot take you with me, because my 
aunt is the Grossest woman alive, and 
never liked young people : but the hens 
will lay eggs for you; there is barley- 
meal in the barrel; and, as you have 
been a good girl, I’ll tell you what to 
do when you feel lonely. Lay your 
head gently down on the cushion of the 
armchair, and say, ‘ Chair of my grand- 
mother, tell me a story.’ It was made 
by a cunning fairy, who lived in the 
forest when I was young, and she gave 
it to me because she knew nobody could 
keep what they got hold of better. Re- 


INTRODUCTORY 


5 


member, you must never ask a story 
more than once in the day ; and if there 
be any occasion to travel, you have only 
to seat yourself in it, and say, 6 Chair 
of my grandmother, take me such a 
way/ It will carry you wherever you 
wish ; but mind to oil the wheels before 
you set out, for I have sat on it these 
forty years in that same corner.” 

Having said this, Dame Frostyface 
set forth to see her aunt in the north 
country. Snowflower gathered firing 
and looked after the hens and cat as 
usual. She baked herself a cake or two 
of the barley-meal; but when the even- 
ing fell the cottage looked lonely. Then 
Snowflower remembered her grand- 
mother’s words, and, laying her head 
gently down, she said, “ Chair of my 
grandmother, tell me a story.” 

Scarce were the words spoken, when 


6 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

a clear voice from under the velvet 
cushion began to tell a new and most 
wonderful tale, which surprised Snow- 
flower so much that she forgot to be 
frightened. After that the good girl 
was lonely no more. Every morning 
she baked a barley cake, and every even- 
ing the chair told her a new story ; but 
she could never find out who owned the 
voice, though Snowflower showed her 
gratitude by polishing up the oaken 
back, and dusting the velvet cushion, till 
the chair looked as good as new. The 
swallows came and built in the eaves, 
the daisies grew thicker than ever at 
the door; but great misfortunes fell 
upon Snowflower. Notwithstanding all 
her care, she forgot to clip the hens’ 
wings, and they flew away one morning 
to visit their friends, the pheasants, 
who lived far in the forest ; the cat f ol- 


INTRODUCTORY 


7 


lowed them to see its relations; the 
barley-meal was eaten up, except a 
couple of handfuls ; and Snowflower had 
often strained her eyes in hopes of see- 
ing the gray mantle, but there was no 
appearance of Dame Prostyface. 

“My grandmother stays long,” said 
Snowflower to herself; “and by and bye 
there will be nothing to eat. If I could 
get to her, perhaps she would advise me 
what to do ; and this is a good occasion 
for traveling.” 

Next day, at sunrise, Snowflower 
oiled the chair’s wheels, baked a cake 
out of the last of the meal, took it in 
her lap by way of provision for the 
journey, seated herself, and said, 
“ Chair of my grandmother, take me 
the way she went.” 

Presently the chair gave a creak, and 
began to move out of the cottage and 


8 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

into the forest the very way Dame 
Frostyface had taken, where it rolled 
along at the rate of a coach and six. 
Snowflower was amazed at this style of 
traveling, but the chair never stopped 
nor stayed the whole summer day, till 
as the sun was setting they came upon 
an open space, where a hundred men 
were hewing down the tall trees with 
their axes, a hundred more were cleav- 
ing them for firewood, and twenty wag- 
oners, with horses and wagons, were 
carrying the wood away. “Oh! chair 
of my grandmother, stop!” said Snow- 
flower, for she was tired, and also 
wished to know what this might mean. 
The chair immediately stood still, and 
Snowflower, seeing an old woodcutter 
who looked civil, stepped up to him and 
said, “Good father, tell me why you cut 
all this wood?” 


INTRODUCTORY 


9 


“What ignorant country girl are 
you*?” replied the man, “not to have 
heard of the great feast which our sov- 
ereign, King Winwealth, means to give 
on the birthday of his only daughter, 
the Princess G-reedalind. It will last 
seven days. Everybody will be feasted, 
and this wood is to roast the oxen and 
the sheep, the geese and the turkeys, 
amongst whom there is a great lamenta- 
tion throughout the land.” 

When Snowflower heard that, she 
could not help wishing to see, and per- 
haps share in, such a noble feast, after 
living so long on barley cakes ; so, seat- 
ing herself, she said, “Chair of my 
grandmother, take me quickly to the 
palace of King Winwealth.” 

The words were hardly spoken, when 
off the chair started through the trees 
and out of the forest, to the great 


10 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


amazement of the woodcutters, who, 
never having seen such a sight before, 
threw down their axes, left their wag- 
ons, and followed Snowflower to the 
gates of a great and splendid city, for- 
tified with strong walls and high tow- 
ers, and standing in the midst of a wide 
plain covered with cornfields, orchards, 
and villages. 

It was the richest city in all the land ; 
merchants from every quarter came 
there to buy and sell, and there was a 
saying that people had only to live 
seven years in it to make their fortunes. 
Rich as they were, however, Snowflower 
thought she had never seen so many dis- 
contented, covetous faces as looked out 
from the great shops, grand houses, and 
fine coaches, when her chair rattled 
along the streets; indeed, the citizens 



The fortified city. 







INTRODUCTORY 


13 


did not stand high in repute for either 
good-nature or honesty; hut it had not 
been so when King Winwealth was 
young, and he and his brother, Prince 
Wisewit, governed the land together. 
Wisewit was a wonderful prince for 
knowledge and prudence. He knew 
the whole art of government, the tem- 
pers of men, and the powers of the 
stars; moreover, he was a great magi- 
cian, and it was said of him that he 
could never die or grow old. In his 
time there was neither discontent nor 
sickness in the city — strangers were 
hospitably entertained without price or 
questions. Lawsuits there were none, 
and no one locked his door at night. 
The fairies used to come there at May- 
day and Michaelmas, for they were 
Prince Wisewit ’s friends — all but one, 
called Fortunetta, a short-sighted but 


14 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


very cunning fairy, who hated every- 
body wiser than herself, and the prince 
especially, because she could never de- 
ceive him. 

There was peace and pleasure for 
many a year in King Winwealth’s city, 
till one day at midsummer Prince Wise- 
wit went alone to the forest, in search 
of a strange herb for his garden, but 
he never came back; and though the 
king, with all his guards, searched far 
and near, no news was ever heard of 
him. When his brother was gone, King 
Winwealth grew lonely in his great pal- 
ace, so he married a certain princess, 
called Wantall, and brought her home 
to be his queen. This princess was 
neither handsome nor agreeable. Peo- 
ple thought she must have gained the 
king’s love by enchantment, for her 
whole dowry was a desert island, with 


INTRODUCTORY 


15 


a huge pit in it that never could he 
filled, and her disposition was so cov- 
etous, that the more she got the greedier 
she grew. In process of time the king 
and queen had an only daughter, who 
was to be the heiress of all their do- 
minions. Her name was the Princess 
Greedalind, and the whole city was 
making preparations to celebrate her 
birthday — not that they cared much for 
the princess, who was remarkably like 
her mother both in looks and temper, 
but being King Winwealth’s only 
daughter, people came from far and 
near to the festival, and among them 
strangers and fairies who had not been 
there since the day of Prince Wisewit. 

There was surprising bustle about 
the palace, a most noble building, so 
spacious that it had a room for every 
day in the year. All the floors were of 


16 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

ebony, and all tlie ceilings of silver, and 
there was such a supply of golden 
dishes used by the household, that five 
hundred armed men kept guard night 
and day lest any of them should be 
stolen. When these guards saw Snow- 
flower and her chair, they ran one after 
the other to tell the king, for the like 
had never been seen nor heard of 
in his dominions, and the whole court 
crowded out to see the little maiden and 
her chair that came of itself. 

When Snowflower saw the lords and 
ladies in their embroidered robes and 
splendid jewels, she began to feel 
ashamed of her own bare feet and linen 
gown ; but at length taking courage, she 
answered all their questions, and told 
them everything about her wonderful 
chair. The queen and the princess 
cared for nothing that was not gilt. 


INTRODUCTORY 


17 


The courtiers had learned the same 
fashion, and all turned away in high 
disdain except the old king, who, think- 
ing the chair might amuse him some- 
times when he got out of spirits, al- 
lowed Snowflower to stay and feast 
with the scullion in his worst kitchen. 
The poor little girl was glad of any 
quarters, though nobody made her wel- 
come — even the servants despised her 
bare feet and linen gown. They would 
give her chair no room but in a dusty 
corner behind the back door, where 
Snowflower was told she might sleep at 
night, and eat up the scraps the cook 
threw away. 

That very day the feast began ; it was 
fine to see the multitudes of coaches 
and people on foot and on horseback 
who crowded to the palace, and filled 
every room according to their rank. 


18 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


Never had Snowflower seen such roast- 
ing and boiling. There was wine for 
the lords and spiced ale for the com- 
mon people, music and dancing of all 
kinds, and the best of gay dresses ; but 
with all the good cheer there seemed lit- 
tle merriment, and a deal of ill-humor 
in the palace. 

Some of the guests thought they 
should have been feasted in grander 
rooms; others were vexed to see many 
finer than themselves. All the serv- 
ants were dissatisfied because they did 
not get presents. There was somebody 
caught every hour stealing the cups, 
and a multitude of people were always 
at the gates clamoring for goods and 
lands, which Queen Wantall had taken 
from them. The guards continually 
drove them away, but they came back 
again, and could be heard plainly in the 


INTRODUCTORY 


19 


highest banquet hall : so it was not won- 
derful that the old king’s spirits got un- 
commonly low that evening after sup- 
per. His favorite page, who always 
stood behind him, perceiving this, re- 
minded his majesty of the little girl and 
her chair. 

“It is a good thought,” said King 
Winwealth. “I have not heard a story 
this many a year. Bring the child and 
the chair instantly!” 

The favorite page sent a messenger 
to the first kitchen, who told the master- 
cook, the master-cook told the kitchen- 
maid, the kitchen-maid told the chief- 
scullion, the chief-scullion told the 
dust-boy, and he told Snowflower to 
wash her face, rub up her chair, and go 
to the highest banquet hall, for the 
great king Winwealth wished to hear a 
story. 


20 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

Nobody offered to help her, but when 
Snowflower had made herself as smart 
as she could with soap and water, and 
rubbed the chair till it looked as if dust 
had never fallen on it, she seated her- 
self, and said: — 4 ‘ Chair of my grand- 
mother, take me to the highest banquet 
hall.” 

Instantly the chair marched in a 
grave and courtly fashion out of the 
kitchen, up the grand staircase, and into 
the highest hall. The chief lords and 
ladies of the land were entertained 
there, besides many fairies and notable 
people from distant countries. There 
had never been such company in the 
palace since the time of Prince Wise- 
wit ; nobody wore less than embroidered 
satin. King Winwealth sat on his 
ivory throne in a robe of purple velvet, 
stiff with flowers of gold ; the queen sat 


INTRODUCTORY 


21 


by his side in a robe of silver cloth, 
clasped with pearls; but the Princess 
Greedalind was finer still, the feast be- 
ing in her honor. She wore a robe of 
cloth of gold clasped with diamonds; 
two waiting-ladies in white satin stood, 
one on either side, to hold her fan and 
handkerchief; and two pages, in gold- 
lace livery, stood behind her chair. 
With all that Princess Greedalind 
looked ugly and spiteful; she and her 
mother were angry to see a barefooted 
girl and an old chair allowed to enter 
the banquet hall. 

The supper-table was still covered 
with golden dishes, and the best of good 
things, but no one offered Snowflower 
a morsel: so, having made an humble 
courtesy to the king, the queen, the 
princess, and the good company, most 
of whom scarcely noticed her, the poor 


22 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

little girl sat down upon the carpet, laid 
her head on the velvet cushion, as she 
used to do in the old cottage, and said : 
— “ Chair of my grandmother, tell me a 
story.” 

Everybody was astonished, even to 
the angry queen and the spiteful prin- 
cess, when a clear voice from under the 
cushion, said: — “ Listen to the story of 
the Christmas Cuckoo!” 


CHAPTER II 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 

“Once upon a time there stood in the 
midst of a bleak moor, in the north 
country, a certain village ; all its inhab- 
itants were poor, for their fields were 
barren, and they had little trade, but 
the poorest of them all were two broth- 
ers called Scrub and Spare, who fol- 
lowed the cobbler’s craft, and had but 
one stall between them. It was a hut 
built of clay and wattles. The door 
was low and always open, for there was 
no window. The roof did not entirely 
keep out the rain, and the only thing 
comfortable about it was a wide hearth, 
for which the brothers could never find 

23 


24 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

wood enough to make a sufficient fire. 
There they worked in most brotherly 
friendship, though with little encour- 
agement. 

“The people of that village were not 
extravagant in shoes, and better cob- 
blers than Scrub and Spare might be 
found. Spiteful people said there were 
no shoes so bad that they would not be 
worse for their mending. Neverthe- 
less Scrub and Spare managed to live 
between their own trade, a small bar- 
ley field, and a cottage garden, till one 
unlucky day when a new cobbler ar- 
rived in the village. He had lived in 
the capital city of the kingdom, and, 
by his own account, cobbled for the 
queen and the princesses. His awls 
were sharp, his lasts were new; he set 
up his stall in a neat cottage with two 
windows. The villagers soon found out 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


25 


that one patch of his would wear two 
of the brothers’. In short, all the 
mending left Scrub and Spare, and 
went to the new cobbler. The season 
had been wet and cold, their barley did 
not ripen well, and the cabbages never 
half closed in the garden. So the 
brothers were poor that winter, and 
when Christmas came they had nothing 
to feast on but a barley loaf, a piece of 
rusty bacon, and some small beer of 
their own brewing. Worse than that, 
the snow was very deep, and they could 
get no firewood. Their hut stood at the 
end of the village, beyond it spread the 
bleak moor, now all white and silent; 
but that moor had once been a forest, 
great roots of old trees were still to be 
found in it, loosened from the soil and 
laid bare by the winds and rains. One 
of these, a rough, gnarled log, lay hard 


26 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


by their door, the half of it above the 
snow, and Spare said to his brother — 

“ ‘Shall we sit here cold on Christ- 
mas while the great root lies yonder? 
Let us chop it up for firewood, the work 
will make us warm.’ 

“ ‘No,’ said Scrub; ‘it’s not right to 
chop wood on Christmas; besides, that 
root is too hard to be broken with any 
hatchet. ’ 

“ ‘Hard or not we must have a fire,’ 
replied Spare. ‘ Come, brother, help 
me in with it. Poor as we are, there 
is nobody in the village will have such 
a yule log as ours.’ 

“Scrub liked a little grandeur, and 
in hopes of having a fine yule log, both 
brothers strained and strove with all 
their might till, between pulling and 
pushing, the great old root was safe on 
the hearth, and beginning to crackle and 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 27 

blaze with the red embers. In high 
glee, the cobblers sat down to their beer 
and bacon. The door was shut, for 
there was nothing but cold moonlight 
and snow outside; but the hut, strewn 
with fir boughs, and ornamented with 
holly, looked cheerful as the ruddy 
blaze flared up and rejoiced their 
hearts. 

“ ‘Long life and good fortune to our- 
selves, brother!’ said Spare. ‘I hope 
you will drink that toast, and may we 
never have a worse fire on Christmas — 
but what is that?’ 

“Spare set down the drinking-horn, 
and the brothers listened astonished, 
for out of the blazing root they heard, 
‘Cuckoo! cuckoo!’ as plain as ever the 
spring-bird’s voice came over the moor 
on a May morning. 


28 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

“ ‘It is something bad,’ said Scrub, 
terribly frightened. 

“ ‘May be not,’ said Spare; and out 
of the deep hole at the side which the 
fire had not reached flew a large gray 
cuckoo, and lit on the table before them. 
Much as the cobblers had been sur- 
prised, they were still more so when it 
said — 

“ ‘Good gentlemen, what season is 
this?’ 

“ ‘It’s Christmas,’ said Spare. 

“ ‘Then a merry Christmas to you!’ 
said the cuckoo. ‘I went to sleep in the 
hollow of that old root one evening last 
summer, and never woke till the heat 
of your fire made me think it was sum- 
mer again; but now since you have 
burned my lodging, let me stay in your 
hut till the spring comes round — I only 
want a hole to sleep in, and when I go 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


29 


on my travels next summer be assured 
I will bring you some present for your 
trouble.’ 

4 4 4 Stay, and welcome,’ said Spare, 
while Scrub sat wondering if it were 
something bad or not; 4 1 ’ll make you a 
good warm hole in the thatch. But you 
must be hungry after that long sleep? 
— here is a slice of barley bread. Come 
help us to keep Christmas!’ 

4 4 The cuckoo ate up the slice, drank 
water from the brown jug, for he would 
take no beer, and flew into a snug hole 
which Spare scooped for him in the 
thatch of the hut. 

4 4 Scrub said he was afraid it wouldn’t 
be lucky ; but as it slept on, and the days 
passed he forgot his fears. So the 
snow melted, the heavy rains came, the 
cold grew less, the days lengthened, and 
one sunny morning the brothers were 


30 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

awakened by the cuckoo shouting its 
own cry to let them know the spring 
had come. 

. “ ‘ Now I’m going on my travels,’ said 
the bird, ‘over the world to tell men of 
the spring. There is no country where 
trees bud or flowers bloom, that I will 
not cry in before the year goes round. 
Give me another slice of barley bread 
to keep me on my journey, and tell me 
what present I shall bring you at the 
twelve-month’s end.’ 

“ Scrub would have been angry with 
his brother for cutting so large a slice, 
their store of barley-meal being low; 
but his mind was occupied with what 
present would be most prudent to ask: 
at length a lucky thought struck him. 

“ ‘Good master cuckoo,’ said he, ‘if a 
great traveler who sees all the world 
like you, could know of any place where 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


31 


diamonds or pearls were to be found, 
one of a tolerable size brought in your 
beak would help such poor men as my 
brother and I to provide something bet- 
ter than barley bread for your next en- 
tertainment. ’ 

“ ‘I know nothing of diamonds or 
pearls/ said the cuckoo; ‘they are in 
the hearts of rocks and the sands of 
rivers. My knowledge is only of that 
which grows on the earth. But there 
are two trees hard by the well that lies 
at the world’s end — one of them is 
called the golden tree, for its leaves are 
all of beaten gold: every winter they 
fall into the well with a sound like scat- 
tered coin, and I know not what be- 
comes of them. As for the other, it is 
always green like a laurel. Some call 
it the wise, and some the merry tree. 
Its leaves never fall, but they that get 


32 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

one of them keep a blithe heart in spite 
of all misfortunes, and can make them- 
selves as merry in a hut as in a palace . 9 

“ ‘Good master cuckoo, bring me a 
leaf off that tree!’ cried Spare. 

“ ‘Now, brother, don’t be a fool!’ said 
Scrub; ‘think of the leaves of beaten 
gold! Dear master cuckoo, bring me 
one of them!’ 

“Before another word could be 
spoken, the cuckoo had flown out of the 
open door, and was shouting its spring 
cry over moor and meadow. The 
brothers were poorer than ever that 
year; nobody would send them a single 
shoe to mend. The new cobbler said, 
in scorn, they should come to be his 
apprentices ; and Scrub and Spare 
would have left the village but for their 
barley field, their cabbage garden, and 
a certain maid called Fairfeather, 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


33 


whom both the cobblers had courted for 
seven years without even knowing which 
she meant to favor. 

“ Sometimes Fairfeather seemed in- 
clined to Scrub, sometimes she smiled 
on Spare; but the brothers never dis- 
puted for that. They sowed their bar- 
ley, planted their cabbage, and now 
that their trade was gone, worked in 
the rich villagers’ fields to make out a 
scanty living. So the seasons came and 
passed: spring, summer, harvest, and 
winter followed each other as they have 
done from the beginning. At the end 
of the latter, Scrub and Spare had 
grown so poor and ragged that Fair- 
feather thought them beneath her no- 
tice. Old neighbors forgot to invite 
them to wedding feasts or merry-mak- 
ing; and they thought the cuckoo had 
forgotten them too, when at daybreak, 


34 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


on the first of April, they heard a hard 
beak knocking at their door, and a voice 
crying— 

“ ‘ Cuckoo! cuckoo! Let me in with 
my presents.’ 

“ Spare ran to open the door, and in 
came the cuckoo, carrying on one side 
of his bill a golden leaf larger than that 
of any tree in the north country ; and in 
the other, one like that of the common 
laurel, only it had a fresher green. 

“ ‘Here,’ it said, giving the gold to 
Scrub and the green to Spare, ‘it is a 
long carriage from the world’s end. 
Give me a slice of barley bread, for I 
must tell the north country that the 
spring has come. ’ 

“Scrub did not grudge the thickness 
of that slice, though it was cut from 
their last loaf. So much gold had 
never been in the cobbler’s hands be- 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


35 



The cuckoo with the gold and green leaves. 


fore, and he could not help exulting 
over his brother. 

“ ‘See the wisdom of my choice!’ he 
said, holding up the large leaf of gold. 
‘As for yours, as good might be plucked 
from any hedge. I wonder a sensible 
bird would carry the like so far. ’ 

“ ‘Good master cobbler,’ cried the 
cuckoo, finishing the slice, ‘your con- 



36 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

elusions are more hasty than courteous. 
If your brother be disappointed this 
time, I go on the same journey every 
year, and for your hospitable entertain- 
ment will think it no trouble to bring 
each of you whichever leaf you desire. ’ 

“ ‘ Darling cuckoo!’ cried Scrub, 
‘ bring me a golden one;’ and Spare, 
looking up from the green leaf on which 
he gazed as though it were a crown- 
jewel, said — 

“ ‘Be sure to bring me one from the 
merry tree,’ and away flew the cuckoo. 

“ ‘This is the Feast of All Fools, and 
it ought to be your birthday,’ said 
Scrub. ‘Did ever man fling away such 
an opportunity of getting rich! Much 
good your merry leaves will do in the 
midst of rags and poverty!’ So he 
went on, but Spare laughed at him, and 
answered with quaint old proverbs con- 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 37 

cerning the cares that come with gold, 
till Scrub, at length getting angry, 
vowed his brother was not fit to live 
with a respectable man ; and taking his 
lasts, his awls, and his golden leaf, he 
left the wattle hut, and went to tell the 
villagers. 

“They were astonished at the folly 
of Spare and charmed with Scrub’s 
good sense, particularly when he 
showed them the golden leaf, and told 
that the cuckoo would bring him one 
every spring. The new cobbler im- 
mediately took him into partnership; 
the greatest people sent him their shoes 
to mend ; Fairf eather smiled graciously 
upon him, and in the course of that sum- 
mer they were married, with a grand 
wedding feast, at which the whole vil- 
lage danced, except Spare, who was not 
invited, because the bride could not 


38 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

bear Ms low-mindedness, and Ms 
brother thought him a disgrace to the 
family. 

“Indeed, all who heard the story con- 
cluded that Spare must be mad, and no- 
body would associate with him but a 
lame tinker, a beggar-boy, and a poor 
woman reputed to be a witch because 
she was old and ugly. As for Scrub, he 
established himself with Fairfeather in 
a cottage close by that of the new cob- 
bler, and quite as fine. There he 
mended shoes to everybody’s satisfac- 
tion, had a scarlet coat for holidays, 
and a fat goose for dinner every wed- 
ding-day. Pairfeather, too, had a 
crimson gown and fine blue ribands; 
but neither she nor Scrub were content, 
for to buy this grandeur the golden leaf 
had to be broken and parted with piece 
by piece, so the last morsel was gone be- 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCHOO 39 

fore the cuckoo came with another. 

“ Spare lived on in the old hut, and 
worked in the cabbage garden. (Scrub 
had got the barley field because he was 
the eldest.) Every day his coat grew 
more ragged, and the hut more weather- 
beaten; but people remarked that he 
never looked sad nor sour; and the 
wonder was, that from the time they be- 
gan to keep his company, the tinker 
grew kinder to the poor donkey with 
which he traveled the country, the beg- 
gar-boy kept out of mischief, and the 
old woman was never cross to her cat or 
angry with the children. 

“ Every first of April the cuckoo came 
tapping at their doors with the golden 
leaf to Scrub and the green to Spare. 
Fairfeather would have entertained 
him nobly with wheaten bread and 


40 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

honey, for she had some notion of per- 
suading him to bring two gold leaves 
instead of one; but the cuckoo flew 
away to eat barley bread with Spare, 
saying he was not fit company for fine 
people, and liked the old hut where he 
slept so snugly from Christmas till 
spring. 

“ Scrub spent the golden leaves, and 
Spare kept the merry ones ; and I know 
not how many years passed in this man- 
ner, when a certain great lord, who 
owned that village came to the neigh- 
borhood. His castle stood on the moor. 
It was ancient and strong, with high 
towers and a deep moat. All the 
country, as far as one could see from 
the highest turret, belonged to its lord ; 
but he had not been there for twenty 
years, and would not have come then, 
only he was melancholy. The cause of 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 41 

his grief was that he had been prime- 
minister at court, and in high favor, till 
somebody told the crown-prince that he 
had spoken disrespectfully concerning 
the turning out of his royal highness’s 
toes, and the king that he did not lay 
on taxes enough, whereon the north 
country lord was turned out of office, 
and banished to his own estate. There 
he lived for some weeks in very bad 
temper. The servants said nothing 
would please him, and the villagers 
put on their worst clothes lest he should 
raise their rents; but one day in the 
harvest time his lordship chanced to 
meet Spare gathering water cresses at 
a meadow stream, and fell into talk 
with the cobbler. 

“How it was nobody could tell, but 
from the hour of that discourse the 
great lord cast away his melancholy : he 


42 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

forgot his lost office and his court ene- 
mies, the king’s taxes and the crown- 
prince’s toes, and went about with a 
noble train hunting, fishing, and mak- 
ing merry in his hall, where all travel- 
ers were entertained and all the poor 
were welcome. This strange story 
spread through the north country, and 
great company came to the cobbler’s 
hut — rich men who had lost their 
money, poor men who had lost their 
friends, beauties who had grown old, 
wits who had gone out of fashion, all 
came to talk with Spare, and whatever 
their troubles had been, all went home 
merry. The rich gave him presents, 
the poor gave him thanks. Spare’s 
coat ceased to be ragged, he had bacon 
with his cabbage, and the villagers be- 
gan to think there was some sense in 
him. 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


43 


“By this time his fame had reached 
the capital city, and even the court. 
There were a great many discontented 
people there besides the king, who had 
lately fallen into ill-humor because a 
neighboring princess, with seven islands 
for her dowry, would not marry his eld- 
est son. So a royal messenger was sent 
to Spare, with a velvet mantle, a dia- 
mond ring, and a command that he 
should repair to court immediately. 

“ ‘ To-morrow is the first of April,’ 
said Spare, ‘and I will go with you two 
hours after sunrise.’ 

“The messenger lodged all night at 
the castle, and the cuckoo came at sun- 
rise with the merry leaf. 

“ ‘Court is a fine place,’ he said when 
the cobbler told him he was going; ‘but 
I cannot come there, they would lay 
snares and catch me; so be careful of 


44 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 



The cobbler Spare receives a royal messenger. 


the leaves I have brought you, and give 
me a farewell slice of barley bread.’ 

“Spare was sorry to part with the 
cuckoo, little as he had of his company ; 
but he gave him a slice which would 
have broken Scrub’s heart in former 



THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 45 

times, it was so thick and large; and 
having sewed up the leaves in the lining 
of his leather doublet, he set out with 
the messenger on his way to court. 

“His coming caused great surprise 
there. Everybody wondered what the 
king could see in such a common-look- 
ing man; but scarce had his majesty 
conversed with him half an hour, when 
the princess and her seven islands were 
forgotten, and orders given that a feast 
for all comers should be spread in the 
banquet hall. The princes of the blood, 
the great lords and ladies, ministers of 
state, and judges of the land, after that 
discoursed with Spare, and the more 
they talked the lighter grew their 
hearts, so that such changes had never 
been seen at court. The lords forgot 
their spites and the ladies their envies, 
the princes and ministers made friends 


46 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


among themselves, and the judges 
showed no favor. 

“ As for Spare, he had a chamber as- 
signed him in the palace, and a seat at 
the king’s table ; one sent him rich bobes 
and another costly jewels; but in the 
midst of all his grandeur he still wore 
the leathern doublet, which the palace 
servants thought remarkably mean. 
One day the king’s attention being 
drawn to it by the chief page, his maj- 
esty inquired why Spare didn’t give 
it to a beggar? But the cobbler an- 
swered — 

“ ‘High and mighty monarch, this 
doublet was with me before silk and vel- 
vet came — I find it easier to wear than 
the court cut; moreover, it serves to 
keep me humble, by recalling the days 
when it was my holiday garment.’ 

“The king thought this a wise speech, 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


47 


and commanded that no one should 
find fault with the leathern doublet. 
So things went, till tidings of his 
brother’s good fortune reached Scrub 
in the moorland cottage on another first 
of April, when the cuckoo came with 
two golden leaves, because he had none 
to carry for Spare. 

“ ‘ Think of that!’ said Fairfeather. 
‘Here we are spending our lives in this 
humdrum place, and Spare making his 
fortune at court with two or three pal- 
try green leaves ! What would they 
say to our golden ones? Let us pack 
up and make our way to the king’s pal- 
ace; I’m sure he will make you a lord 
and me a lady of honor, not to speak 
of all the fine clothes and presents we 
shall have.’ 

“Scrub thought this excellent reason- 
ing, and their packing up began : but it 


48 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

was soon found that the cottage con- 
tained few things fit for carrying to 
court. Fairfeather could not think of 
her wooden bowls, spoons, and trenchers 
being seen there. Scrub considered his 
lasts and awls better left behind, as 
without them, he concluded, no one 
would suspect him of being a cobbler. 
So putting on their holiday clothes, 
Fairfeather took her looking-glass and 
Scrub his drinking horn, which hap- 
pened to have a very thin rim of silver, 
and each carrying a golden leaf care- 
fully wrapped up that none might see 
it till they reached the palace, the pair 
set out in great expectation. 

“How far Scrub and Fairfeather 
journeyed I cannot say, but when the 
sun was high and warm at noon, they 
came into a wood both tired and hungry. 

“ ‘If I had known it was so far to 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 49 

court,’ said Scrub, ‘I would have 
brought the end of that barley loaf 
which we left in the cupboard. ’ 

“ ‘ Husband,’ said Fairfeather, ‘you 
shouldn’t have such mean thoughts: 
how could one eat barley bread on the 
way to a palace ? Let us rest ourselves 
under this tree, and look at our golden 
leaves to see if they are safe.’ In look- 
ing at the leaves, and talking of their 
fine prospects, Scrub and Fairfeather 
did not perceive that a very thin old 
woman had slipped from behind the 
tree, with a long staff in her hand and 
a great wallet by her side. 

“ ‘Noble lord and lady,’ she said, 
‘for I know ye are such by your voices, 
though my eyes are dim and my hear- 
ing none of the sharpest, will ye con- 
descend to tell me where I may find 
some water to mix a bottle of mead 


50 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


which I carry in my wallet, because it 
is too strong for me ? ’ 

“As the old woman spoke, she pulled 
out a large wooden bottle such as shep- 
herds used in the ancient times, corked 
with leaves rolled together, and having 
a small wooden cup hanging from its 
handle. 

“ ‘Perhaps ye will do me the favor to 
taste,’ she said. ‘It is only made of the 
best honey. I have also cream cheese, 
and a wheaten loaf here, if such honor- 
able persons as you would eat the like.’ 

“Scrub and Fairfeather became very 
condescending after this speech. They 
were now sure that there must be some 
appearance of nobility about them; be- 
sides, they were very hungry, and hav- 
ing hastily wrapped up the golden 
leaves, they assured the old woman they 
were not at all proud, notwithstanding 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 51 

tlie lands and castles they had left 
behind them in the north country, and 
would willingly help to lighten the wal- 
let. The old woman could scarcely be 
persuaded to sit down for pure humil- 
ity, but at length she did, and before 
the wallet was half empty, Scrub and 
Fairfeather firmly believed that there 
must be something remarkably noble- 
looking about them. This was not en- 
tirely owing to her ingenious discourse. 
The old woman was a wood-witch; her 
name was Buttertongue ; and all her 
time was spent in making mead, which, 
being boiled with curious herbs and 
spells, had the power of making all who 
drank it fall asleep and dream with 
their eyes open. She had two dwarfs 
of sons; one was named Spy, and the 
other Pounce. Wherever their mother 
went they were not far behind; and 


52 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


whoever tasted her mead was sure to 
be robbed by the dwarfs. 

“ Scrub and Fairfeather sat leaning 
against the old tree. The cobbler had 
a lump of cheese in his hand; his wife 
held fast a hunch of bread. Their eyes 
and mouths were both open, but they 
were dreaming of great grandeur at 
court, when the old woman raised her 
shrill voice — 

“ ‘What ho, my sons! come here and 
carry home the harvest. ’ 

“No sooner had she spoken, than the 
two little dwarfs darted out of the 
neighboring thicket. 

“ ‘Idle boys!’ cried the mother, ‘what 
have ye done to-day to help our living?’ 

“ ‘I have been to the city,’ said Spy, 
‘ and could see nothing. These are hard 
times for us — everybody minds their 
business so contentedly since that cob- 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 53 

bier came ; but here is a leathern doub- 
let which his page threw out of the win- 
dow; it’s of no use, but I brought it to 
let you see I was not idle/ And he 
tossed down Spare’s doublet, with the 
merry leaves in it, which he had car- 
ried like a bundle on his little back. 

“To explain how Spy came by it, I 
must tell you that the forest was not 
far from the great city where Spare 
lived in such high esteem. All things 
had gone well with the cobbler till the 
king thought that it was quite unbecom- 
ing to see such a worthy man without a 
servant. His majesty, therefore, to let 
all men understand his royal favor to- 
ward Spare, appointed one of his own 
pages to wait upon him. The name of 
this youth was Tinseltoes, and, though 
he was the seventh of the king’s pages, 
nobody in all the court had grander no- 


54 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


tions. Nothing could please him that 
had not gold or silver about it, and his 
grandmother feared he would hang him- 
self for being appointed page to a cob- 
bler. As for Spare, if anything could 
have troubled him, this token of his 
majesty ’s kindness would have done it. 

“The honest man had been so used to 
serve himself that the page was always 
in the way, but his merry leaves came 
to his assistance; and, to the great sur- 
prise of his grandmother, Tinseltoes 
took wonderfully to the new service. 
Some said it was because Spare gave 
him nothing to do but play at bowls 
all day on the palace-green. Yet one 
thing grieved the heart of Tinseltoes, 
and that was his master’s leathern 
doublet; but for it he was persuaded 
people would never remember that 
Spare had been a cobbler, and the page 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 55 

took a deal of pains to let him see how 
unfashionable it was at court; but 
Spare answered Tinseltoes as he had 
done the king, and at last, finding noth- 
ing better would do, the page got up 
one fine morning earlier than his mas- 
ter, and tossed the leathern doublet out 
of the back window into a certain lane 
where Spy found it, and brought it to 
his mother. 

“ ‘That nasty thing!’ said the old 
woman; ‘where is the good in it?’ 

“By this time, Pounce had taken 
everything of value from Scrub and 
Pairfeather — the looking-glass, the sil- 
ver-rimmed horn, the husband’s scarlet 
coat, the wife’s gay mantle, and, above 
all, the golden leaves, which so rejoiced 
old Buttertongue and her sons, that 
they threw the leathern doublet over the 
sleeping cobbler for a jest, and went off 


56 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

to their hut in the heart of the forest. 

“The sun was going down when 
Scrub and Fairfeather awoke from 
dreaming that they had been made a 
lord and a lady, and sat clothed in silk 
and velvet, feasting with the king in his 
palace-hall. It was a great disappoint- 
ment to find their golden leaves and all 
their best things gone. Scrub tore his 
hair, and vowed to take the old woman’s 
life, while Fairfeather lamented sore; 
but Scrub, feeling cold for want of his 
coat, put on the leathern doublet with- 
out asking or caring whence it came. 

“Scarcely was it buttoned on when a 
change came over him; he addressed 
such merry discourse to Fairfeather, 
that, instead of lamentations, she made 
the wood ring with laughter. Both 
busied themselves in getting up a hut 
of boughs, in which Scrub kindled a 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


57 



The page Tinseltoes throws the doublet out of 
the window. 


fire with a flint and steel, which, to- 
gether with his pipe, he had brought 
unknown to Fairfeather, who had told 
him the like was never heard of at court. 
Then they found a pheasant’s nest at 
the root of an old oak, made a meal of 
roasted eggs, and went to sleep on a 
heap of long green grass which they 



58 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

had gathered, with nightingales singing 
all night long in the old trees about 
them. So it happened that Scrub and 
Fairfeather stayed day after day in the 
forest, making their hut larger and 
more comfortable against the winter, 
living on wild birds’ eggs and berries, 
and never thinking of their lost golden 
leaves, or their journey to court. 

“In the meantime Spare had got up 
and missed his doublet. Tinseltoes, of 
course, said he knew nothing about it. 
The whole palace was searched, and 
every servant questioned, till all the 
court wondered why such a fuss was 
made about an old leathern doublet. 
That very day things came back to 
their old fashion. Quarrels began 
among the lords, and jealousies among 
the ladies. The king said his subjects 
did not pay him half enough taxes, the 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


59 


queen wanted more jewels, the servants 
took to their old bickerings and got up 
some new ones. Spare found himself 
getting wonderfully dull, and very much 
out of place : nobles began to ask what 
business a cobbler had at the king’s 
table, and his majesty ordered the pal- 
ace chronicles to be searched for a prec- 
edent. The cobbler was too wise to 
tell all he had lost with that doublet, 
but being by this time somewhat fa- 
miliar with court customs, he pro- 
claimed a reward of fifty gold pieces to 
any who would bring him news concern- 
ing it. 

66 Scarcely was this made known in 
the city, when the gates and outer courts 
of the palace were filled with men, 
women, and children, some bringing 
leathern doublets of every cut and color ; 
some with tales of what they had heard 


60 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

and seen in their walks about the neigh- 
borhood ; and so much news concerning 
all sorts of great people came out of 
these stories, that lords and ladies ran 
to the king with complaints of Spare 
as a speaker of slander ; and his majesty, 
being now satisfied that there was no 
example in all the palace records of 
such a retainer, issued a decree banish- 
ing the cobbler for ever from the court, 
and confiscating all his goods in favor 
of Tinseltoes. 

“That royal edict was scarcely pub- 
lished before the page was in full pos- 
session of his rich chamber, his costly 
garments, and all the presents the 
courtiers had given him; while Spare, 
having no longer the fifty pieces of gold 
to give, was glad to make his escape out 
of the back window, for fear of the 
nobles, who vowed to be revenged on 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


61 


him, and the crowd, who were prepared 
to stone him for cheating them about 
his doublet. 

“The window from which Spare let 
himself down with a strong rope, was 
that from which Tinseltoes had tossed 
the doublet, and as the cobbler came 
down late in the twilight, a poor wood- 
man, with a heavy load of fagots, 
stopped and stared at him in great as- 
tonishment. 

“ 4 What’s the matter, friend?’ said 
Spare. ‘Did you never see a man com- 
ing down from a back window before?’ 

“ ‘Why,’ said the woodman, ‘the last 
morning I passed here a leathern doub- 
let came out of that very window, and 
I’ll be bound you are the owner of it.’ 

“ ‘That I am, friend,’ said the cob- 
bler. ‘Can you tell me which way that 
doublet went?’ 


62 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

“ ‘As I walked on,’ said the wood- 
man, ‘a dwarf, called Spy, bundled it up 
and ran off to his mother in the forest. ’ 

“ ‘ Honest friend,’ said Spare, taking 
off the last of his fine clothes (a grass- 
green mantle edged with gold), 4 1 ’ll 
give you this if you will follow the 
dwarf, and bring me back my doublet. ’ 

“ ‘It would not be good to carry fag- 
ots in,’ said the woodman. ‘But if 
you want back your doublet, the road to 
the forest lies at the end of this lane,’ 
and he trudged away. 

“Determined to find his doublet, and 
sure that neither crowd nor courtiers 
could catch him in the forest, Spare 
went on his way, and was soon among 
the tall trees ; but neither hut nor dwarf 
could he see. Moreover, the night 
came on ; the wood was dark and 
tangled, but here and there the moon 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


63 


shone through its alleys, the great owls 
flitted about, and the nightingales sang. 
So he went on, hoping to find some 
place of shelter. At last the red light 
of a fire, gleaming through a thicket, 
led him to the door of a low hut. It 
stood half open, as if there was nothing 
to fear, and within he saw his brother 
Scrub snoring loudly on a bed of grass, 
at the foot of which lay his own leathern 
doublet; while Fairfeather, in a kirtle 
made of plaited rushes, sat roasting 
pheasants ’ eggs by the fire. 

“ ‘Good evening, mistress/ said 
Spare, stepping in. 

“The blaze shone on him, hut so 
changed was her brother-in-law with 
his court-life, that Fairfeather did not 
know him, and she answered far more 
courteously than was her wont. 

“ ‘Good evening, master. Whence 


64 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


come ye so late ? but speak low, for my 
good man has sorely tired himself cleav- 
ing wood, and is taking a sleep, as you 
see, before supper.’ 

44 ‘A good rest to him,’ said Spare, 
perceiving he was not known. 4 1 come 
from the court for a day’s hunting, and 
have lost my way in the forest. ’ 

44 4 Sit down and have a share of our 
supper,’ said Fairfeather, 4 1 will put 
some more eggs in the ashes; and tell 
me the news of court — I used to think 
of it long ago when I was young and 
foolish. ’ 

4 4 4 Did you never go there?’ said the 
cobbler. 4 So fair a dame as you would 
make the ladies marvel.’ 

4 4 4 You are pleased to flatter,’ said 
Fairfeather; 4 but my husband has a 
brother there, and we left our moorland 
village to try our fortune also. An old 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


65 


woman enticed ns with fair words and 
strong drink at the entrance of this for- 
est, where we fell asleep and dreamt of 
great things ; but when we woke, every- 
thing had been robbed from us — my 
looking-glass, my scarlet cloak, my hus- 
band’s Sunday coat; and, in place of 
all, the robbers left him that old leath- 
ern doublet, which he has worn ever 
since, and never was so merry in all 
his life, though we live in this poor 
hut.’ 

“ ‘It is a shabby doublet, that,’ said 
Spare, taking up the garment, and see- 
ing that it was his own, for the merry 
leaves were still sewed in its lining. ‘It 
would be good for hunting in, however 
— your husband would be glad to part 
with it, I dare say, in exchange for this 
handsome cloak;’ and he pulled off the 
green mantle and buttoned on the doub- 


66 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


let, much to Fairfeather’s delight, who 
ran and shook Scrub, crying — 

“ ‘ Husband! husband! rise and see 
what a good bargain I have made. ’ 

‘ ‘ Scrub gave one closing snore, and 
muttered something about the root be- 
ing hard ; but he rubbed his eyes, gazed 
up at his brother, and said — 

“ ‘ Spare, is that really you? How 
did you like the court, and have you 
made your fortune?’ 

“ ‘That I have, brother,’ said Spare, 
‘in getting back my own good leathern 
doublet. Come, let us eat eggs, and rest 
ourselves here this night. In the morn- 
ing we will return to our own old hut, 
at the end of the moorland village 
where the Christmas Cuckoo will come 
and bring us leaves. ’ 

“Scrub and Fairfeather agreed. So 
in the morning they all returned, and 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


67 


found the old hut little the worse for 
wear and weather. The neighbors came 
about them to ask the news of court, 
and see if they had made their fortune. 
Everybody was astonished to find the 
three poorer than ever, but somehow 
they liked to go back to the hut. Spare 
brought out the lasts and awls he had 
hidden in a corner ; Scrub and he began 
their old trade, and the whole north 
country found out that there never 
were such cobblers. 

“They mended the shoes of lords and 
ladies as well as the common people; 
everybody was satisfied. Their custom 
increased from day to day, and all that 
were disappointed, discontented, or un- 
lucky, came to the hut as in old times, 
before Spare went to court. 

“The rich brought them presents, the 
poor did them service. The hut itself 


68 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


changed, no one knew how. Flowering 
honeysuckle grew over its roof ; red and 
white roses grew thick about its door. 
Moreover, the Christmas Cuckoo al- 
ways came on the first of April, bring- 
ing three leaves of the merry tree — for 
Scrub and Fairfeather would have no 
more golden ones. So it was with them 
when I last heard the news of the north 
country.” 

“What a summer-house that hut 
would make for me, mamma!” said the 
Princess Greedalind. 

“We must have it brought here 
bodily,” said Queen Wantall; but the 
chair was silent, and a lady and two 
noble squires, clad in russet-colored 
satin and yellow buskins, the like of 
which had never been seen at that court, 
rose up and said — 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


69 


“That’s our story.” 

“I have not heard such a tale,” said 
King Winwealth, “since my brother 
Wisewit went from me, and was lost in 
the forest. Redheels, the seventh of 
my pages, go and bring this little maid 
a pair of scarlet shoes with golden 
buckles.” 

The seventh page immediately 
brought from the royal store a pair 
of scarlet satin shoes with buckles of 
gold. Snowflower never had seen the 
like before, and joyfully thanking the 
king, she dropped a courtesy, seated 
herself and said — “Chair of my grand- 
mother, take me to the worst kitchen.” 
Immediately the chair marched away 
as it came, to the admiration of that 
noble company. 

The little girl was allowed to sleep on 
some straw at the kitchen fire that 


70 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

night. Next day they gave her ale with 
the scraps the cook threw away. The 
feast went on with great music and 
splendor, and the people clamored with- 
out; but in the evening King Win- 
wealth again fell into low spirits, and 
the royal command was told to Snow- 
flower by the chief scullion, that she 
and her chair should go to the highest 
banquet hall, for his majesty wished to 
hear another story. 

When Snowflower had washed her 
face, and dusted her chair, she went up 
seated as before, only that she had on 
the scarlet shoes. Queen Wantall and 
her daughter looked more spiteful than 
ever, but some of the company gra- 
ciously noticed Snowflower ’s courtesy, 
and were pleased when she laid down 
her head, saying, “ Chair of my grand- 
mother, tell me a story. ” 


THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 


71 


“ Listen,’ ’ said the clear voice from 
under the cushion, “to the story of Lady 
Greensleeves . 9 9 


CHAPTER III 


THE LORDS OF THE WHITE AND GRAY 
CASTLES 

“Once upon a time there lived two 
noble lords in the east country. Their 
lands lay between a broad river and an 
old oak forest, whose size was so great 
that no man knew it. In the midst of 
his land each lord had a stately castle; 
one was built of the white freestone, the 
other of the gray granite. So the one 
was called Lord of the White Castle, 
and the other Lord of the Gray. 

“There were no lords like them in 
all the east country for nobleness and 
bounty. Their tenants lived in peace 
and plenty; all strangers were hospi- 

72 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 73 


tably entertained at their castles; and 
every autumn they sent men with axes 
into the forest to hew down the great 
trees, and chop them up into firewood 
for the poor. Neither hedge nor ditch 
divided their lands, hut these lords 
never disputed. They had been friends 
from their youth. Their ladies had 
died long ago, but the Lord of the Gray 
Castle had a little son, and the Lord of 
the White a little daughter; and when 
they feasted in each other’s halls it was 
their custom to say, ‘When our chil- 
dren grow up they will marry, and have 
our castles and our lands, and keep our 
friendship in memory.’ 

“So the lords and their little children, 
and tenants, lived happily till one Mi- 
chaelmas night, as they were all feasting 
in the hall of the White Castle, there 
came a traveler to the gate, who was wel- 


74 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

corned and feasted as usual. He had 
seen many strange sights and countries, 
and, like most people, he liked to tell 
his travels. The lords were delighted 
with his tales, as they sat round the fire 
drinking wine after supper, and at 
length the Lord of the White Castle, 
who was very curious, said — 

“ ‘Good stranger, what was the great- 
est wonder you ever saw in all your 
travels?’ 

■“ ‘The most wonderful sight that 
ever I saw,’ replied the traveler, ‘was 
at the end of yonder forest, where in 
an ancient wooden house there sits an 
old woman weaving her own hair into 
gray cloth on an old crazy loom. When 
she wants more yarn she cuts off her 
own gray hair, and it grows so quickly 
that though I saw it cut in the morning, 
it was out of the door before noon. 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 75 

She told me it was her purpose to sell 
the cloth, but none of all who came that 
way had yet bought any, she asked so 
great a price; and, only the way is so 
long and dangerous through that wide 
forest full of boars and wolves, some 
rich lord like you might buy it for a 
mantle . 9 

“All who heard this story were as- 
tonished; but when the traveler had 
gone on his way the Lord of the White 
Castle could neither eat nor sleep for 
wishing to see the old woman that wove 
her own hair. At length he made up 
his mind to explore the forest in search 
of her ancient house, and told the Lord 
of the Gray Castle his intention. Be- 
ing a prudent man, this lord replied that 
traveler’s tales were not always to be 
trusted, and earnestly advised him 
against undertaking such a long and 


76 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

dangerous journey, for few that went 
far into that forest ever returned. 
However, when the curious lord would 
go in spite of all, he vowed to bear him 
company for friendship’s sake, and 
they agreed to set out privately, lest the 
other lords of the land might laugh at 
them. The Lord of the White Castle 
had a steward who had served him 
many years, and his name was Reckon- 
ing Robin. To him he said — 

“ ‘I am going on a long journey with 
my friend. Be careful of my goods, 
deal justly with my tenants, and above 
all things be kind to my little daughter 
Loveleaves till my return;’ and the 
steward answered — 

“ ‘Be sure, my lord, I will.’ 

“The Lord of the Gray Castle also 
had a steward who had served him many 


LORDS OP THE CASTLES 


77 


years, and his name was Wary Will. 
To him he said — 

“ 4 1 am going on a journey with my 
friend. Be careful of my goods, deal 
justly with my tenants, and above all 
things be kind to my little son Wood- 
wender till my return ; ’ and his steward 
answered him — 

u ‘Be sure, my lord, I will.’ 

“So these lords kissed their children 
while they slept, and set out each with 
his staff and mantle before sunrise 
through the old oak forest. The chil- 
dren missed their fathers, the tenants 
missed their lords. None but the stew- 
ards could tell what had become of 
them ; but seven months wore away, and 
they did not come back. The lords had 
thought their stewards faithful, because 
they served so well under their eyes; 


78 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

but instead of that, both were proud 
and crafty, and thinking that some evil 
had happened to their masters, they set 
themselves to be lords in their room. 

“ Reckoning Robin had a son called 
Hardhold, and Wary Will, a daughter 
called Drypenny. There was not a 
sulkier girl or boy in the country, but 
their fathers resolved to make a young 
lord and lady of them ; so they took the 
silk clothes which Woodwender and 
Loveleaves used to wear, to dress them, 
clothing the lord’s children in frieze 
and canvas. Their garden flowers and 
ivory toys were given to Hardhold and 
Drypenny; and at last the steward’s 
children sat at the chief tables, and 
slept in the best chambers, while Wood- 
wender and Loveleaves were sent to 
herd the swine and sleep on straw in the 
granary. 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 


79 



Woodwender and Loveleaves tend the swine. 


“The poor children had no one to 
take their part. Every morning at 
sunrise they were sent out — each with a 
barley loaf and a bottle of sour milk, 
which was to serve them for breakfast, 
dinner, and supper — to watch a great 



80 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

herd of swine on a wide unfenced pas- 
ture hard by the forest. The grass was 
scanty, and the swine were continually 
straying into the wood in search of 
acorns; the children knew that if they 
were lost the wicked stewards would 
punish them, and between gathering 
and keeping their herds in order, they 
were readier to sleep on the granary 
straw at night than ever they had been 
within their own silken curtains. Still 
Woodwender and Loveleaves helped 
and comforted each other, saying their 
fathers would come back, or God would 
send them some friends : so, in spite of 
swine-herding and hard living, they 
looked blithe and handsome as ever; 
while Hardhold and Drypenny grew 
Grosser and uglier every day, notwith- 
standing their fine clothes and the best 
of all things. 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 


81 


“The crafty stewards did not like 
this. They thought their children 
ought to look genteel, and Woodwen- 
der and Loveleaves like young swine- 
herds; so they sent them to a wilder 
pasture, still nearer the forest, and 
gave them two great black hogs, more 
unruly than all the rest, to keep. One 
of these hogs belonged to Hardhold, 
and the other to Drypenny. Every 
evening when they came home the stew- 
ard ’s children used to come down and 
feed them, and it was their delight to 
reckon up what price they would bring 
when properly fattened. 

“One sultry day, about midsummer, 
Woodwender and Loveleaves sat down 
in the shadow of a mossy rock: the 
swine grazed about them more quietly 
than usual, and they plaited rushes and 
talked to each other, till, as the sun was 


82 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


sloping down the sky, Woodwender 
saw that the two great hogs were miss- 
ing. Thinking they must have gone to 
the forest, the poor children ran to 
search for them. They heard the 
thrush singing and the wood-doves 
calling; they saw the squirrels leaping 
from hough to bough, and the great 
deer bounding by; but though they 
searched for hours, no trace of the fa- 
vorite hogs could be seen. Loveleaves 
and Woodwender durst not go home 
without them. Deeper and deeper 
they ran into the forest, searching and 
calling, but all in vain; and when the 
woods began to darken with the fall of 
evening, the children feared they had 
lost their way. 

“It was known that they never 
feared the forest, nor all the boars and 
wolves that were in it ; but being weary, 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 83 

they wished for some place of shelter, 
and took a green path through the 
trees, thinking it might lead to the 
dwelling of some hermit or forester. A 
fairer way Woodwender and Love- 
leaves had never walked. The grass 
was soft and mossy, a hedge of wild 
roses and honeysuckle grew on either 
side, and the red light of sunset 
streamed through the tall trees above. 
On they went, and it led them straight 
to a great open dell, covered with the 
loveliest flowers, bordered with banks 
of wild strawberries, and all overshad- 
owed by one enormous oak, whose like 
had never been seen in grove or forest. 
Its branches were as large as full-grown 
trees. Its trunk was wider than a 
country church, and its height like that 
of a castle. There were mossy seats 
at its great root, and when the tired 


84 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

children had gathered as many straw- 
berries as they cared for, they sat down 
on one, hard by a small spring that bub- 
bled up as clear as crystal. The huge 
oak was covered with thick ivy, in 
which thousands of birds had their 
nests. Woodwender and Loveleaves 
watched them flying home from all 
parts of the forest, and at last they saw 
a lady coming by the same path which 
led them to the dell. She wore a gown 
of russet color; her yellow hair was 
braided and bound with a crimson fillet. 
In her right hand she carried a holly 
branch; but the most remarkable part 
of her attire was a pair of long sleeves, 
as green as the very grass. 

“ ‘Who are you?’ she said, ‘that sit 
so late beside my well?’ and the chil- 
dren told her their story, how they had 
first lost the hogs, then their way, and 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 85 

were afraid to go home to the wicked 
stewards 

“ ‘Well,’ said the lady, 4 ye are the 
fairest swineherds that ever came this 
way. Choose whether ye will go home 
and keep hogs for Hardliold and Dry- 
penny, or live in the free forest with 
me . 9 

“ ‘We will stay with you,’ said the 
children, ‘for we like not keeping swine. 
Besides, our fathers went through this 
forest, and we may meet them some 
day coming home.’ 

“While they spoke, the lady slipped 
her holly branch through the ivy, as if 
it had been a key — presently a door 
opened in the oak, and there was a fair 
house. The windows were of rock 
crystal, but they could not be seen from 
without. The walls and floor were cov- 
ered with thick green moss, as soft as 


86 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

velvet. There were low seats and a 
round table, vessels of carved wood, a 
hearth inlaid with curious stones, an 
oven, and a store chamber for provi- 
sions against the winter v When they 
stepped in, the lady said — 

“ ‘ A hundred years have I lived 
here, and my name is Lady Green- 
sleeves. No friend or servant have I 
had except my dwarf Corner, who 
comes to me at the end of harvest with 
his handmill, his pannier, and his ax: 
with these he grinds the nuts, and gath- 
ers the berries, and cleaves the fire- 
wood, and blithely we live all the win- 
ter. But Corner loves the frost and 
fears the sun, and when the topmost 
boughs begin to bud, he returns to his 
country far in the north, so I am lonely 
in the summer time.’ 

“By this discourse the children saw 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 87 

how welcome they were. Lady Green- 
sleeves gave them deer’s milk and cakes 
of nut-flour, and soft green moss to 
sleep on ; and they forgot all their trou- 
bles, the wicked stewards, and the 
straying swine. Early in the morning 
a troop of does came to be milked, fai- 
ries brought flowers, and birds brought 
berries, to show Lady Greensleeves 
what had bloomed and ripened. She 
taught the children to make cheese of 
the does’ milk, and wine of the wood- 
berries. She showed them the stores 
of honey which wild bees had made, and 
left in hollow trees, the rarest plants of 
the forest, and the herbs that made all 
its creatures tame. 

“All that summer Woodwender and 
Loveleaves lived with her in the great 
oak-tree, free from toil and care; and 
the children would have been happy, 


88 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

but they could hear no tidings of their 
fathers. At last the leaves began to 
fade, and the flowers to fall; Lady 
Greensleeves said that Corner was 
coining; and one moonlight night she 
heaped sticks on the fire, and set her 
door open, when Woodwender and 
Loveleaves were going to sleep, saying 
she expected some old friends to tell her 
the news of the forest. 

“ Loveleaves was not quite so curious 
as her father, the Lord of the White 
Castle : but she kept awake to see what 
would happen, and terribly frightened 
the little girl was when in walked a 
great brown bear. 

“ 4 Good evening, lady,’ said the 
bear. 

“ 6 Good evening, bear,’ said Lady 
Greensleeves. ‘What is the news in 
your neighborhood?’ 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 89 

“ ‘Not much,’ said the bear; 'only 
the fawns are growing very cunning — 
one can’t catch above three in a day.’ 

“ 4 That’s bad news,’ said Lady 
Greensleeves ; and immediately in 
walked a great wild cat. 

“ ‘ Good evening, lady,’ said the cat. 

“ ‘Good evening, cat,’ said Lady 
Greensleeves. ‘What is the news in 
your neighborhood?’ 

“ ‘Not much,’ said the cat; ‘only the 
birds are growing very plentiful — it is 
not worth one’s while to catch them.’ 

“ ‘That’s good news,’ said Lady 
Greensleeves ; and in flew a great black 
raven. 

“ ‘Good evening, lady,’ said the 
raven. 

“ ‘Good evening, raven,’ said Lady 
Greensleeves. ‘What is the news in 
your neighborhood?’ 


90 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


“ ‘ Not much,’ said the raven; ‘ only 
in a hundred years or so we shall be 
very genteel and private — the trees 
will be so thick.’ 

“ ‘How is that?’ said Lady Green- 
sleeves. 

“ 4 Oh!’ said the raven, ‘have you not 
heard how the king of the forest fairies 
laid a spell on two noble lords, who 
were traveling through his dominions 
to see the old woman that weaves her 
own hair? They had thinned his oaks 
every year, cutting firewood for the 
poor : so the king met them in the like- 
ness of a hunter, and asked them to 
drink out of his oaken goblet, because 
the day was warm; and when the two 
lords drank, they forgot their lands and 
their tenants, their castles and their 
children, and minded nothing in all this 
world but the planting of acorns, which 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 91 

they do day and night, by the power of 
the spell, in the heart of the forest, and 
will never cease till some one makes 
them pause in their work before the 
sun sets, and then the spell will be 
broken/ 

“ ‘Ah!’ said Lady Greensleeves, ‘he 
is a great prince, that king of the 
forest fairies ; and there is worse 
work in the world than planting 
acorns. ’ 

“Soon after, the bear, the cat, and 
the raven bade Lady Greensleeves good 
night. She closed the door, put out 
the light, and went to sleep on the soft 
moss as usual. 

“In the morning Loveleaves told 
Woodwender what she had heard, and 
they went to Lady Greensleeves where 
she milked the does, and said — 

“ ‘We heard what the raven told last 


92 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

night, and we know the two lords are 
our fathers: tell us how the spell may 
be broken!’ 

“ ‘I fear the king of the forest fai- 
ries,’ said Lady Grreensleeves, 6 because 
I live here alone, and have no friend 
but my dwarf Corner ; but I will tell 
you what you may do. At the end of 
the path which leads from this dell turn 
your faces to the north, and you will 
find a narrow way sprinkled over with 
black feathers — keep that path, no 
matter how it winds, and it will lead 
you straight to the ravens’ neighbor- 
hood, where you will find your fathers 
planting acorns under the forest trees. 
Watch till the sun is near setting, and 
tell them the most wonderful things 
you know to make them forget their 
work; but he sure to tell nothing but 
truth, and drink nothing but running 


LORDS OP THE CASTLES 93 

water, or you will fall into the power 
of the fairy king. ’ 

“The children thanked her for this 
good counsel. She packed up cakes 
and cheese for them in a bag of woven 
grass, and they soon found the narrow 
way sprinkled over with black feathers. 
It was very long, and wound through 
the thick trees in so many circles that 
the children were often weary, and sat 
down to rest. When the night came, 
they found a mossy hollow in the trunk 
of an old tree, where they laid them- 
selves down, and slept all the summer 
night — for Woodwender and Love- 
leaves never feared the forest. So 
they went, eating their cakes and cheese 
when they were hungry, drinking from 
the running stream, and sleeping in the 
hollow trees, till on the evening of the 
seventh day they came into the ravens’ 


94 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


neighborhood. The tall trees were 
laden with nests and black with ravens. 
There was nothing to be heard but con- 
tinual cawing; and in a great opening 
where the oaks grew thinnest, the chil- 
dren saw their own fathers busy plant- 
ing acorns. Each lord had on the vel- 
vet mantle in which he left his castle, 
but it was worn to rags with rough 
work in the forest. Their hair and 
beards had grown long; their hands 
were soiled with earth ; each had an old 
wooden spade, and on all sides lay 
heaps of acorns. The children called 
them by their names, and ran to kiss 
them, each saying — ‘Dear father, come 
back to your castle and your people!’ 
but the lords replied — 

“ ‘We know of no castles and no 
people. There is nothing in all this 
world but oak-trees and acorns.’ 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 


95 


“Woodwender and Loveleaves told 
them of all their former state in vain 
— nothing would make them pause for 
a minute : so the poor children first sat 
down and cried, and then slept on the 
cold grass, for the sun set, and the lords 
worked on. When they awoke it was 
broad day; Woodwender cheered up 
his sister, saying — ‘ We are hungry, and 
there are still two cakes in the bag, let 
us share one of them — who knows but 
something may happen?’ 

“So they divided the cake, and ran 
to the lords, saying — ‘Dear fathers, eat 
with us’; but the lords said — 

“ ‘There is no use for meat or drink. 
Let us plant our acorns. ’ 

“Loveleaves and Woodwender sat 
down, and ate that cake in great sor- 
row. When they had finished, both 
went to a stream hard by, and began to 


96 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

drink the clear water with a large 
acorn shell; and as they drank there 
came through the oaks a gay young 
hunter; his mantle was green as the 
grass, about his neck there hung a 
crystal bugle, and in his hand he carried 
a huge oaken goblet, carved with flow- 
ers and leaves, and rimmed with crys- 
tal. Up to the brim it was filled with 
milk, on which the rich cream floated; 
and as the hunter came near, he said — 
‘Fair children, leave that muddy water, 
and come and drink with me’; but 
Woodwender and Loveleaves an- 
swered — 

“ ‘Thanks, good hunter, but we have 
promised to drink nothing but running 
water.’ Still the hunter came nearer 
with his goblet, saying — 

“ ‘The water is foul: it may do for 
swine-herds and woodcutters, but not 



The gay young hunter comes to Woodwender and 
Loveleaves. 




































































































































































































~ 















































































































































































































































































LORDS OF THE CASTLES 99 

for such fair children as you. Tell me, 
are you not the children of mighty 
kings? Were you not reared in pal- 
aces V But the boy and girl answered 
him — 

“ ‘No; we were reared in castles, and 
are the children of yonder lords ; tell us 
how the spell that is upon them may be 
broken!’ and immediately the hunter 
turned from them with an angry 
look, poured out the milk upon the 
ground and went away with his empty 
goblet. 

“Loveleaves and Woodwender were 
sorry to see the rich cream spilled, but 
they remembered Lady Greensleeves’ 
warning, and seeing they could do no 
better, each got a withered branch and 
began to help the lords, scratching up 
the ground with the sharp end, and 
planting acorns; but their fathers took 


100 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

no notice of them, nor all that they 
could say ; and when the sun grew warm 
at noon, they went again to drink at 
the running stream. Then there came 
through the oaks another hunter, older 
than the first, and clothed in yellow: 
about his neck there hung a silver 
bugle, and in his hand he carried an 
oaken goblet, carved with leaves and 
fruit, rimmed with silver, and filled 
with mead to the brim. This hunter 
also asked them to drink, told them the 
stream was full of frogs, and asked 
them if they were not a young prince 
and princess dwelling in the woods for 
their pleasure? but when Woodwender 
and Loveleaves answered as before — 
‘We have promised to drink only run- 
ning water, and are the children of 
yonder lords : tell us how the spell may 
be broken!’ — he turned from them with 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 


101 


an angry look, poured out the mead, 
and went his way. 

“All that afternoon the children 
worked beside their fathers, planting 
acorns with the withered branches ; but 
the lords would mind neither them nor 
their words. And when the evening 
drew near they were very hungry; so 
the children divided their last cake, and 
when no persuasion w T ould make the 
lords eat with them, they went to the 
banks of the stream, and began to eat 
and drink, though their hearts were 
heavy. 

“The sun was getting low, and the 
ravens were coming home to their nests 
in the high trees ; but one, that seemed 
old and weary, alighted near them to 
drink at the stream. As they ate the 
raven lingered, and picked up the small 
crumbs that fell. 


102 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

“ 6 Brother/ said Loveleaves, ‘this 
raven is surely hungry ; let us give it a 
little bit, though it is our last cake.’ 

“Woodwender agreed, and each gave 
a bit to the raven; but its great bill 
finished the morsels in a moment, and 
hopping nearer, it looked them in the 
face by turns. 

“ ‘The poor raven is still hungry , 9 
said Woodwender, and he gave it an- 
other bit. When that was gobbled, it 
came to Loveleaves, who gave it a bit 
too, and so on till the raven had eaten 
the whole of their last cake. 

“ ‘Well,’ said Woodwender, ‘at least, 
we can have a drink.’ But as they 
stooped to the water, there came 
through the oaks another hunter, older 
than the last, and clothed in scarlet: 
about his neck there hung a golden 
bugle, and in his hand he carried a huge 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 


103 


oaken goblet, carved with ears of corn 
and clusters of grapes, rimmed with 
gold, and filled to the brim with wine. 
He also said — 

“ * Leave this muddy water, and drink 
with me. It is full of toads, and not fit 
for such fair children. Surely ye are 
from fairyland, and were reared in its 
queen’s palace!’ But the children 
said — 

“ ‘We will drink nothing but this 
water, and yonder lords are our 
fathers: tell us how the spell may be 
broken!’ And the hunter turned from 
them with an angry look, poured out 
the wine on the grass, and went his 
way. When he was gone, the old raven 
looked up into their faces, and said — 

“ ‘I have eaten your last cake, and I 
will tell you how the spell may be 
broken. Yonder is the sun, going 


104 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


down behind yon western trees. Be- 
fore it sets, go to the lords, and tell 
them how their stewards used you, and 
made you herd hogs for Hardhold and 
Drypenny. When you see them listen- 
ing, catch up their wooden spades, and 
keep them if you can till the sun goes 
down. ’ 

“Woodwender and Loveleaves 
thanked the raven, and where it flew 
they never stopped to see, but running 
to the lords began to tell as they were 
bidden. At first the lords would not 
listen, but as the children related how 
they had been made to sleep on straw, 
how they had been sent to herd hogs 
in the wild pasture, and what trouble 
they had with the unruly swine, the 
acorn planting grew slower, and at last 
they dropped their spades. Then 
Woodwender, catching up his father’s 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 


105 


spade, ran to the stream and threw it 
in. Loveleaves did the same for the 
Lord of the White Castle. That mo- 
ment the sun disappeared behind the 
western oaks, and the lords stood up, 
looking, like men just awakened, on the 
forest, on the sky, and on their chil- 
dren. 

“So this strange story has ended, 
for Woodwender and Loveleaves went 
home rejoicing with their fathers. 
Each lord returned to his castle, and 
all their tenants made merry. The fine 
toys and the silk clothes, the flower- 
gardens and the best chambers, were 
taken from Hardhold and Drypenny, 
for the lords’ children got them again; 
and the wicked stewards, with their 
cross boy and girl, were sent to herd 
swine, and live in huts in the wild 
pasture, which everybody said became 


106 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


them better. The Lord of the White 
Castle never again wished to see the 
old woman that wove her own hair, and 
the Lord of the Gray Castle continued 
to be his friend. As for Woodwender 
and Loveleaves, they met with no more 
misfortunes, but grew up, and were 
married, and inherited the two castles 
and the broad lands of their fathers. 
Nor did they forget the lonely Lady 
Greensleeves, for it was known in the 
east country that she and her dwarf 
Corner always came to feast with them 
in the Christmas time, and at mid- 
summer they always went to live with 
her in the great oak in the forest.’ 

“Oh! mamma, if we had that oak!” 
said the Princess Greedalind. 

“Where does it grow?” said Queen 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 107 

Wantall: but the chair was silent, and 
a noble lord and lady, clad in green vel- 
vet, flowered with gold, rose up and 
said — 

“That’s our story.” 

“Excepting the tale of yesterday,” 
said King Winwealth, “I have not 
heard such a story since my brother 
Wisewit went from me, and was lost 
in the forest. Gaygarters, the sixth of 
my pages, go and bring this maiden a 
pair of white silk hose with golden 
clocks on them.” 

Queen Wantall and Princess Greed- 
alind at this looked crosser than ever; 
but Gaygarters brought the white silk 
hose, and Snowflower, having dropped 
her courtesy, and taken her seat, was 
carried once more to the kitchen, where 
they gave her a mattress that night, 


108 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

and next day she got the ends of choice 
dishes. 

The feast, the music, and the danc- 
ing went on, so did the envies within 
and the clamors without the palace. 
In the evening King Winwealth fell 
again into low spirits after supper, and 
a message coming down from the ban- 
quet hall, the kitchen-maid told Snow- 
flower to prepare herself, and go up 
with her grandmother’s chair, for his 
majesty wished to hear another story. 
Having washed her face and combed 
her hair, put on her scarlet shoes, and 
her gold-clocked hose, Snowflower went 
up as before, seated in her grand- 
mother’s chair; and after courtesying 
as usual to the king, the queen, the 
princess, and the noble company, the 
little girl laid down her head, saying — 
“ Chair of my grandmother, tell me a 


LORDS OF THE CASTLES 


109 


story’’; and a clear voice from under 
the cushion said — 

“ Listen to the story of the Greedy 
Shepherd.” 


CHAPTER IY 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 

“Once upon a time there lived in the 
south country two brothers, whose busi- 
ness it was to keep sheep on a great 
grassy plain, which was bounded on the 
one side by a forest, and on the other 
by a chain of high hills. No one lived 
on that plain but shepherds, who dwelt 
in low cottages thatched with heath, 
and watched their sheep so carefully 
that no lamb was ever lost, nor had one 
of the shepherds ever traveled beyond 
the foot of the hills and the skirts of 
the forest. 

“There were none among them more 

careful than these two brothers, one of 
no 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 


111 


whom was called Clutch, and the other 
Kind. Though brethren born, two 
men of distant countries could not be 
more unlike in disposition. Clutch 
thought of nothing in this world but 
how to catch and keep some profit for 
himself, while Kind would have shared 
his last morsel with a hungry dog. 
This covetous mind made Clutch keep 
all his father’s sheep when the old man 
was dead and gone, because he was the 
eldest brother, allowing Kind nothing 
but the place of a servant to help him 
in looking after them. Kind wouldn’t 
quarrel with his brother for the sake of 
the sheep, so he helped him to keep 
them, and Clutch had all his own way. 
This made him agreeable. For some 
time the brothers lived peaceably in 
their father’s cottage, which stood low 
and lonely under the shadow of a great 


112 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

sycamore-tree, and kept their flock with 
pipe and crook on the grassy plain, till 
new troubles arose through Clutch’s 
covetousness. 

“On that plain there was neither 
town, nor city, nor market-place, where 
people might sell or buy, but the shep- 
herds cared little for trade. The wool 
of their flocks made them clothes ; their 
milk gave them butter and cheese. At 
feast times every family killed a lamb 
or so; their fields yielded them wheat 
for bread. The forest supplied them 
with firewood for winter; and every 
midsummer, which is the sheep-shear- 
ing time, traders from a certain far-off 
city came through it by an ancient way 
to purchase all the wool the shepherds 
could spare, and give them in exchange 
either goods or money. 

“One midsummer it so happened that 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 


113 


these traders praised the wool of 
Clutch’s flock above all they found on 
the plain, and gave him the highest 
price of it. That was an unlucky hap- 
pening for the sheep : from thenceforth 
Clutch thought he could never get 
enough wool off them. At the shear- 
ing time nobody clipped so close, and, 
in spite of all Kind could do or say, he 
left the poor sheep as bare as if they 
had been shaven; and as soon as the 
wool grew long enough to keep them 
warm, he was ready with the shears 
again — no matter how chilly might be 
the days, or how near the winter. Kind 
didn’t like these doings, and many a 
debate they caused between him and 
his brother. Clutch always tried to 
persuade him that close clipping was 
good for the sheep, and Kind always 
strove to make him think he had got 


114 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


all the wool — so they were never done 
with disputes. Still Clutch sold the 
wool, and stored up his profits, and one 
midsummer after another passed. The 
shepherds began to think him a rich 
man, and close clipping might have be- 
come the fashion, but for a strange 
thing which happened to his flock. 

“The wool had grown well that sum- 
mer. He had taken two crops off them, 
and was thinking of a third, — though 
the misty mornings of autumn were 
come, and the cold evenings made the 
shepherds put on their winter cloaks, 
— when first the lambs, and then the 
ewes, began to stray away; and search 
as the brothers would, none of them 
was ever found again. Clutch blamed 
Kind with being careless, and watched 
with all his might. Kind knew it was 
not his fault, but he looked sharper 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 115 

than ever. Still the straying went on. 
The flocks grew smaller every day, and 
all the brothers could find out was, that 
the closest clipped were the first to go; 
and, count the flock when they might, 
some were sure to be missed at the 
folding. 

“Kind grew tired of watching, and 
Clutch lost his sheep with vexation. 
The other shepherds, over whom he had 
boasted of his wool and his profits, were 
not sorry to see pride having a fall. 
Most of them pitied Kind, but all of 
them agreed that they had marvelous 
ill luck, and kept as far from them as 
they could for fear of sharing it. Still 
the flock melted away as the months 
wore on. Storms and cold weather 
never stopped them from straying, and 
when the spring came back nothing re- 
mained with Clutch and Kind but three 


116 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


old ewes, the quietest and lamest of 
their whole flock. They were watch- 
ing these ewes one evening in the prim- 
rose time, when Clutch, who had never 
kept his eyes off them that day, said — 

“ ‘ Brother, there is wool to he had on 
their hacks.’ 

“ ‘It is too little to keep them warm,’ 
said Kind. ‘The east wind still blows 
sometimes’; but Clutch was off to the 
cottage for the hag and shears. 

“Kind was grieved to see his brother 
so covetous, and to divert his mind he 
looked up at the great hills: it was a 
sort of comfort to him, ever since their 
losses began, to look at them even- 
ing and morning. Now their far-off 
heights were growing crimson with the 
setting sun, but as he looked, three 
creatures like sheep scoured up a cleft 
in one of them as fleet as any deer: 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 


117 


and when Kind turned, he saw his 
brother coming with the bag and shears, 
but not a single ewe was to be seen. 
Clutch’s first question was, what had 
become of them; and when Kind told 
him what he saw, the eldest brother 
scolded him with might and main for 
ever lifting his eyes off them — 

“ ‘Much good the hills and the sun- 
set do us,’ said he, ‘now that we have 
not a single sheep. The other shep- 
herds will hardly give us room among 
them at shearing time or harvest; but 
for my part, I’ll not stay on this plain 
to be despised for poverty. If you like 
to come with me, and be guided by my 
advice, we shall get service somewhere. 
I have heard my father say that there 
were great shepherds living in old 
times beyond the hills ; let us go and see 
if they will take us for sheep-boys.’ 


118 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


“Kind would rather have stayed and 
tilled his father’s wheat-field, hard by 
the cottage ; but since his elder brother 
would go, he resolved to bear him 
company. Accordingly, next morning 
Clutch took his bag and shears, Kind 
took his crook and pipe, and away they 
went over the plain and up the hills. 
All who saw them thought that they 
had lost their senses, for no shepherd 
had gone there for a hundred years, 
and nothing was to be seen but wide 
moorlands, full of rugged rocks, and 
sloping up, it seemed, to the very sky. 
Kind persuaded his brother to take the 
direction the sheep had taken, but the 
ground was so rough and steep that 
after two hours’ climbing they would 
gladly have turned back, if it had not 
been that their sheep were gone, and 
the shepherds would laugh at them. 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 


119 


“By noon they came to the stony 
cleft, np which the three old ewes had 
scoured like deer; but both were tired, 
and sat down to rest. Their feet were 
sore, and their hearts were heavy; but 
as they sat there, there came a sound 
of music down the hills, as if a thou- 
sand shepherds had been playing on 
their tops. Clutch and Kind had never 
heard such music before. As they 
listened, the soreness passed from their 
feet, and the heaviness from their 
hearts; and getting up, they followed 
the sound up the cleft, and over a wide 
heath, covered with purple bloom; till 
at sunset, they came to the hill-top, and 
saw a broad pasture, where violets grew 
thick among the grass, and thousands 
of snow-white sheep were feeding, 
while an old man sat in the midst of 
them, playing on his pipe. He wore a 


120 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

long coat, the color of the holly leaves ; 
his hair hung to his waist, and his beard 
to his knees ; hut both were as white as 
snow, and he had the countenance of 
one who had led a quiet life, and known 
no cares nor losses. 

“ ‘Good father,’ said Kind, for his 
eldest brother hung back and was 
afraid, ‘tell us what land is this, and 
where can we find service; for my 
brother and I are shepherds, and can 
well keep flocks from straying, though 
we have lost our own.’ 

“ ‘These are the hill pastures,’ said 
the old man, ‘and I am the ancient shep- 
herd. My flocks never stray, but I 
have employment for you. Which of 
you can shear best?’ 

“ ‘Good father,’ said Clutch, taking 
courage, ‘I am the closest shearer in all 
the plain country: you would not find 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 


121 


as much wool as would make a thread 
on a sheep when I have done with it. ’ 

“ ‘You are the man for my business,’ 
replied the old shepherd. ‘When the 
moon rises, I will call the flock you 
have to shear. Till then sit down and 
rest, and take your supper out of my 
wallet. ’ 

“Clutch and Kind gladly sat down 
by him among the violets, and opening 
a leathern bag which hung by his side, 
the old man gave them cakes and 
cheese, and a horn cup to drink from a 
stream hard by. The brothers felt fit 
for any work after that meal ; and 
Clutch rejoiced in his own mind at the 
chance he had got for showing his skill 
with the shears. ‘Kind will see how 
useful it is to cut close,’ he thought to 
himself : but they sat with the old man, 
telling him the news of the plain, till 


122 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


the sun went down and the moon rose, 
and all the snow-white sheep gathered 
and laid themselves down behind him. 
Then he took his pipe and played a 
merry tune, when immediately there 
was heard a great howling, and up the 
hills came a troop of shaggy wolves, 
with hair so long that their eyes could 
scarcely be seen. Clutch would have 
fled for fear, but the wolves stopped, 
and the old man said to him — 

“ ‘Rise, and shear — this flock of 
mine have too much wool on them. 9 

“Clutch had never shorn wolves be- 
fore, yet he couldn’t think of losing the 
good service, and went forward with a 
stout heart; but the first of the wolves 
showed its teeth, and all the rest raised 
such a howl the moment he came near 
them, that Clutch was glad to throw 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 123 

down his shears, and run behind the old 
man for safety. 

“‘Good father,’ cried he, ‘I will 
shear sheep, but not wolves.’ 

“ ‘They must be shorn,’ said the old 
man, ‘or you go back to the plains, and 
them after you; but whichever of you 
can shear them will get the whole 
flock.’ 

“On hearing this, Clutch began to 
exclaim on his hard fortune, and his 
brother who had brought him there to 
be hunted and devoured by wolves; but 
Kind, thinking that things could be no 
worse, caught up the shears he had 
thrown a*way in his fright, and went 
boldly up to the nearest wolf. To his 
great surprise the wild creature seemed 
to know him, and stood quietly to be 
shorn, while the rest of the flock 


124 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


gathered round as if waiting their 
turn. Kind clipped neatly, but not too 
close, as he had wished his brother to 
do with the sheep, and heaped up the 
hair on one side. When he had done 
with one, another came forward, and 
Kind went on shearing by the bright 
moonlight till the whole flock were 
shorn. Then the old man said — 

“ ‘Ye have done well, take the wool 
and the flock for your wages, return 
with them to the plain, and if you 
please, take this little-worth brother of 
yours for a boy to keep them.’ 

“Kind did not much like keeping 
wolves, but before he could make 
answer, they had all changed into the 
very sheep which had strayed away so 
strangely All of them had grown 
fatter and thicker of fleece, and the hair 
he had cut off lay by his side, a heap of 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 


125 



Clutch returns with his sack. 


wool so fine and soft that its like had 
never been seen on the plain. 

“Clutch gathered it up in his empty 
bag, and glad was he to go back to the 
plain with his brother ; for the old man 
sent them away with their flock, saying 
no man must see the dawn of day on 


126 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

that pasture but himself, for it was the 
ground of the fairies. So Clutch and 
Kind went home with great gladness. 
All the shepherds came to hear their 
wonderful story, and ever after liked 
to keep near them because they had 
such good luck. They keep the sheep 
together till this day, but Clutch has 
grown less greedy, and Kind alone uses 
the shears.” 

With these words the voice ceased, 
and two shepherds, clad in grass-green 
and crowned with garlands, rose up, 
and said — - 

“That’s our story.” 

“Mamma,” said Princess Greed- 
alind, “what a lovely playground that 
violet pasture would make for me!” 

“What wool could be had off all 
those snow-white sheep!” said Queen 


THE GREEDY SHEPHERD 


127 


Wantall: but King Winwealth said — 
. “ Excepting yesterday’s tale, and the 
one that went before it, I have not 
heard such a story as that since my 
brother Wisewit went from me, and 
was lost in the forest. Spangledhose, 
the fifth of my pages, rise, and bring 
this maiden a white satin gown.” 

Snowflower took the white satin 
gown, thanked the king, courtseyed to 
the good company, and went down on 
her chair to the best kitchen. That 
night they gave her a new blanket, and 
next day she had a cold pie for dinner. 
The music, the feast, and the spite con- 
tinued within the palace: so did the 
clamors without; and his majesty, fall- 
ing into low spirits, as usual, after sup- 
per, one of the under cooks told Snow- 
flower that a message had come down 
from the highest banquet hall for her 


128 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

to go up with her grandmother’s chair, 
and tell another story. Snowflower 
accordingly dressed herself in the red 
shoes, the gold-clocked hose, and the 
white satin gown. All the company 
were glad to see her and her chair 
coming, except the queen and the Prin- 
cess Greedalind; and when the little 
girl had made her courtesy and laid 
down her head saying, “ Chair of my 
grandmother, tell me a story,” the 
same clear voice said — 

“Listen to the story of Fairyfoot.” 


CHAPTER V 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 

“Once upon a time there stood far 
away in the west country a town called 
Stumpinghame. It contained seven 
windmills, a royal palace, a market 
place, and a prison, with every other 
convenience befitting the capital of a 
kingdom. A capital city was Stump- 
inghame, and its inhabitants thought 
it the only one in the world. It stood 
in the midst of a great plain, which for 
three leagues round its walls was 
covered with corn, flax, and orchards. 
Beyond that lay a great circle of pas- 
ture land, seven leagues in breadth, and 
it was bounded on all sides by a forest 

129 


130 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

so thick and old that no man in Stump- 
inghame knew its extent ; and the 
opinion of the learned was that it 
reached to the end of the world. 

“ There were strong reasons for this 
opinion. First, that forest was known 
to be inhabited time out of mind by the 
fairies, and no hunter cared to go be- 
yond its borders — so all the west 
country believed it to be solidly full of 
old trees to the heart. Secondly, the 
people of Stumpinghame were no 
travelers — man, woman, and child had 
feet so large and heavy that it was by 
no means convenient to carry them far. 
Whether it was the nature of the place 
or the people, I cannot tell, but great 
feet had been the fashion there time 
immemorial, and the higher the family 
the larger were they. It was, there- 
fore, the aim of everybody above the 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 131 

degree of shepherds, and such-like rus- 
tics, to swell out and enlarge their feet 
by way of gentility; and so successful 
were they in these undertakings that, 
on a pinch, respectable people’s slip- 
pers would have served for panniers. 

“ Stumpinghame had a king of its 
own, and his name was Stiff step; his 
family was very ancient and large- 
footed. His subjects called him Lord of 
the World, and he made a speech to them 
every year concerning the grandeur of 
his mighty empire. His queen, Ham- 
merheel, was the greatest beauty in 
Stumpinghame. Her majesty’s shoe 
was not much less than a fishing-boat; 
their six children promised to be quite 
as handsome, and all went well with 
them till the birth of their seventh son. 

“For a long time nobody about the 
palace could understand what was the 


132 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


matter — the ladies-in-waiting looked so 
astonished, and the king so vexed; but 
at last it was whispered through the 
city that the queen’s seventh child had 
been born with such miserably small 
feet that they resembled nothing ever 
seen or heard of in Stumpinghame, ex- 
cept the feet of the fairies. 

“The chronicles furnished no exam- 
ple of such an affliction ever before hap- 
pening in the royal family. The com- 
mon people thought it portended some 
great calamity to the city; the learned 
men began to write books about it ; and 
all the relations of the king and queen 
assembled at the palace to mourn with 
them over their singular misfortune. 
The whole court and most of the citi- 
zens helped in this mourning, but when 
it had lasted seven days they all found 
out it was of no use. So the relations 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 133 

went to their homes, and the people 
took to their work. If the learned 
men’s books were written, nobody ever 
read them; and to cheer up the queen’s 
spirits, the young prince was sent pri- 
vately out to the pasture lands, to be 
nursed among the shepherds. 

“The chief man there was called 
Fleecefold, and his wife’s name was 
Rough Ruddy. They lived in a snug 
cottage with their son Blackthorn and 
their daughter Brownberry, and were 
thought great people, because they kept 
the king’s sheep. Moreover, Fleece- 
fold’s family were known to be an- 
cient; and Rough Ruddy boasted that 
she had the largest feet in all the pas- 
tures. The shepherds held them in 
high respect, and it grew still higher 
when the news spread that the king’s 
seventh son had been sent to their cot- 


134 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


tage, People came from all quarters 
to see the young prince, and great were 
the lamentations over his misfortune in 
having such small feet. 

“The king and queen had given him 
fourteen names, beginning with Augus- 
tus — such being the fashion in that 
royal family; but the honest country 
people could not remember so many ; be- 
sides, his feet were the most remark- 
able thing about the child, so with one 
accord they called him Fairyfoot. At 
first it was feared this might be high- 
treason, but when no notice was taken 
by the king or his ministers, the shep- 
herds concluded it was no harm, and the 
boy never had another name throughout 
the pastures. At court it was not 
thought polite to speak of him at all. 
They did not keep his birthday, and he 
was never sent for at Christmas, be- 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 135 

cause the queen and her ladies could not 
bear the sight. Once a year the under- 
most scullion was sent to see how he did, 
with a bundle of his next brother’s cast- 
off clothes ; and, as the king grew old and 
cross, it was said he had thoughts of dis- 
owning him. 

“So Fairyfoot grew in Pleecef old’s 
cottage. Perhaps the country air made 
him fair and rosy — for all agreed that 
Tie would have been a handsome boy but 
for his small feet, with which neverthe- 
less he learned to walk, and in time to 
run and to jump, thereby amazing 
everybody, for such doings were not 
known among the children of Stum- 
pinghame. The news of court, however, 
traveled to the shepherds, and Pairy- 
foot was despised among them. The old 
people thought him unlucky; the chil- 
dren refused to play with him. Fleece- 


136 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

fold was ashamed to have him in his 
cottage, but he durst not disobey the 
king’s orders. Moreover, Blackthorn 
wore most of the clothes brought by the 
scullion. At last, Rough Ruddy found 
out that the sight of such horrid jump- 
ing would make her children vulgar; 
and, as soon as he was old enough, she 
sent Fairyfoot every day to watch some 
sickly sheep that grazed on a wild, 
weedy pasture, hard by the forest. 

“ Poor Fairyfoot was often lonely and 
sorrowful; many a time he wished his 
feet would grow larger, or that people 
wouldn’t notice them so much; and all 
the comfort he had was running and 
jumping by himself in the wild pasture, 
and thinking that none of the shepherds’ 
children could do the like, for all their 
pride of their great feet. 

“ Tired of this sport, he was lying in 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 137 


the shadow of a mossy rock one warm 
summer’s noon, with the sheep feeding 
around, when a robin, pursued by a 
great hawk, flew into the old velvet cap 
which lay on the ground beside him. 
Fairyfoot covered it up, and the hawk, 
frightened by his shout, flew away. 

“ ‘Now you may go, poor robin!’ he 
said, opening the cap ; but instead of the 
bird, out sprang a little man dressed in 
russet-brown, and looking as if he were 
an hundred years old. Fairyfoot could 
not speak for astonishment, but the lit- 
tle man said — 

“ ‘Thank you for your shelter, and be 
sure I will do as much for you. Call 
on me if you are ever in trouble. My 
name is Robin Goodfellow;’ and darting 
off, he was out of sight in an instant. 
For days the boy wondered who that 
little man could be, but he told nobody, 


r 


138 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

for the little man’s feet were as small 
as his own, and it was clear he would be 
no favorite in Stumpinghame. Fairy- 
foot kept the story to himself, and at 
last midsummer came. That evening 
was a feast among the shepherds. 
There were bonfires on the hills, and 
fun in the villages. But Fairyfoot sat 
alone beside his sheepfold, for the chil- 
dren of his village had refused to let 
him dance with them about the bonfire, 
and he had gone there to bewail the size 
of his feet, which came between him and 
so many good things. Fairyfoot had 
never felt so lonely in all his life, and 
remembering the little man, he plucked 
up spirit, and cried — 

“ ‘Ho! Robin Goodfellow!’ 

“ ‘Here I am,’ said a shrill voice at 
his elbow ; and there stood the little man 
himself. 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 139 

“ ‘I am very lonely, and no one will 
play with me, because my feet are not 
large enough,’ said Fairy foot. 

“ ‘Come then and play with us,’ said 
the little man. ‘We lead the merriest 
lives in the world, and care for nobody’s 
feet; but all companies have their own 
manners, and there are two things you 
must mind among us : first, do as you see 
the rest doing ; and secondly, never 
speak of anything you may hear or see, 
for we and the people of this country 
have had no friendship ever since large 
feet came in fashion. ’ 

“ ‘I will do that, and anything more 
you like,’ said Fairyfoot; and the little 
man taking his hand, led him over the 
pasture into the forest, and along a 
mossy path among old trees wreathed 
with ivy (he never knew how far), till 
they heard the sound of music, and came 


140 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


upon a meadow where the moon shone 
as bright as day, and all the flowers of 
the year — snowdrops, violets, primroses, 
and cowslips — bloomed together in the 
thick grass. There were a crowd of 
little men and women, some clad in rus- 
set color, but far more in green, danc- 
ing round a little well as clear as crys- 
tal. And under great rose-trees which 
grew here and there in the meadow, 
companies were sitting round low tables 
covered with cups of milk, dishes of 
honey, and carved wooden flagons filled 
with clear red wine. The little man led 
Fairyfoot up to the nearest table, 
handed him one of the flagons, and 
said — 

“ 4 Drink to the good company!’ 

“Wine was not very common among 
the shepherds of Stumpinghame, and 
the boy had never tasted such drink as 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 141 


that before; for scarcely had it gone 
down, when he forgot all his troubles — 
how Blackthorn and Brownberry wore 
his clothes, how Bough Buddy sent him 
to keep the sickly sheep, and the chil- 
dren would not dance with him : in short, 
he forgot the whole misfortune of his 
feet, and it seemed to his mind that he 
was a king’s son, and all was well with 
him. All the little people about the well 
cried — 

“ ‘ Welcome! welcome!’ and everyone 
said — ‘Come and dance with me!’ So 
Fairyfoot was as happy as a prince, and 
drank milk and ate honey till the moon 
was low in the sky, and then the little 
man took him by the hand, and never 
stopped nor stayed till he was at his 
own bed of straw in the cottage corner. 

“Next morning Fairyfoot was not 
tired for all his dancing. Nobody in 


142 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


the cottage had missed him, and he went 
out with the sheep as usual; but every 
night all that summer, when the shep- 
herds were safe in bed, the little man 
came and took him away to dance in the 
forest. Now he did not care to play 
with the shepherds’ children, nor grieve 
that his father and mother had forgot- 
ten him, but watched the sheep all day 
singing to himself or plaiting rushes; 
and when the sun went down, Fairv- 
foot’s heart rejoiced at the thought of 
meeting that merry company. 

“The wonder was that he was never 
tired nor sleepy, as people are apt to be 
who dance all night ; but before the sum- 
mer was ended Fairyfoot found out the 
reason. One night, when the moon 
was full, and the last of the ripe corn 
rustling in the fields, Robin Goodfellow 
came for him as usual, and away they 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 143 

went to the flowery green. The fnn 
there was high, and Robin was in haste. 
So he only pointed to the carved cup 
from which Fairyf oot every night drank 
the clear red wine 

“ ‘I am not thirsty, and there is no 
use losing time, ’ thought the boy to him- 
self, and he joined the dance; but never 
in all his life did Fairyfoot find such 
hard work as to keep pace with the com- 
pany. Their feet seemed to move like 
lightning; the swallows did not fly so 
fast or turn so quickly. Fairyfoot did 
his best, for he never gave in easily, but 
at length, his breath and strength being 
spent, the boy was glad to steal away, 
and sit down behind a mossy oak, where 
his eyes closed for very weariness. 
When he awoke the dance was nearly 
over, but two little ladies clad in green 
talked close beside him. 


144 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

“ ‘What a beautiful boy!’ said one of 
them. ‘ He is worthy to be a king’s son. 
Only see what handsome feet he has!’ 

“ ‘Yes,’ said the other, with a laugh 
that sounded spiteful; ‘they are just 
like the feet Princess Maybloom had be- 
fore she washed them in the Growing 
W ell. Her father has sent far and wide 
throughout the whole country searching 
for a doctor to make them small again, 
but nothing in this world can do it ex- 
cept the water of the Fair Fountain, 
and none but I and the nightingales 
know where it is.’ 

“ ‘One would not care to let the like 
be known,’ said the first little lady: 
‘there would come such crowds of these 
great coarse creatures of mankind, no- 
body would have peace for leagues 
round. But you will surely send word 
to the sweet princess — she was so kind 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 145 



The Princess Maybloom. 


to our birds and butterflies, and danced 
so like one of ourselves !’ 

“ ‘Not I, indeed!’ said the spiteful 
fairy. ‘Her old skinflint of a father cut 
down the cedar which I loved best in the 
whole forest, and made a chest of it to 



146 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


hold his money in ; besides, I never liked 
the princess — everybody praised her so. 
But come, we shall be too late for the 
last dance.’ ” 

When they were gone, Fairyfoot 
could sleep no more with astonishment. 
He did not wonder at the fairies admir- 
ing his feet, because their own were 
much the same ; but it amazed him that 
Princess Maybloom’s father should be 
troubled at hers growing large. More- 
over, he wished to see that same prin- 
cess and her country, since there were 
really other places in the world than 
Stumpinghame. 

“When Robin Goodfellow came to 
take him home as usual he durst not let 
him know that he had overheard any- 
thing ; but never was the boy so unwill- 
ing to get up as on that morning, and all 
day he was so weary that in the after- 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 147 

noon Fairyfoot fell asleep, with his head 
on a clump of rushes. It was seldom 
that anyone thought of looking after 
him and the sickly sheep ; but it so hap- 
pened that towards evening the old 
shepherd, Fleecefold, thought he would 
see how things went on in the pastures. 
The shepherd had a bad temper and a 
thick staff, and no sooner did he catch 
sight of Fairyfoot sleeping, and his 
flock straying away, than shouting all 
the ill names he could remember, in a 
voice which woke up the boy, he ran 
after him as fast as his great feet would 
allow; while Fairyfoot, seeing no other 
shelter from his fury, fled into the for- 
est, and never stopped nor stayed till he 
reached the banks of a little stream. 

“ Thinking it might lead him to the 
fairies’ dancing-ground, he followed 
that stream for many an hour, but it 


148 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


wound away into the heart of the forest, 
flowing through dells, falling over mossy 
rocks and at last leading Fairyfoot, 
when he was tired and the night had 
fallen, to a grove of great rose-trees, 
with the moon shining on it as bright as 
day, and thousands of nightingales sing- 
ing in the branches. In the midst of 
that grove was a clear spring, bordered 
with banks of lilies, and Fairyfoot sat 
down by it to rest himself and listen. 
The singing was so sweet he could have 
listened forever, but as he sat the night- 
ingales left off their songs, and began 
to talk together in the silence of the 
night. 

“ ‘ What boy is that,’ said one on a 
branch above him, ‘who sits so lonely by 
the Fair Fountain? He cannot have 
come from Stumpinghame with such 
small and handsome feet.’ 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 149 

“ ‘N o, IT1 warrant you,’ said an- 
other, ‘he has come from the west coun- 
try. How in the world did he find the 
way?’ 

“ ‘How simple you are!’ said a third 
nightingale. ‘What had he to do but 
follow the ground-ivy which grows over 
height and hollow, hank and hush, from 
the lowest gate of the king’s kitchen gar- 
den to the root of this rose-tree? He 
looks a wise boy, and I hope he will keep 
the secret, or we shall have all the west 
country here, dabbling in our fountain, 
and leaving us no rest to either talk or 
sing. ’ 

“Fairy foot sat in great astonishment 
at this discourse, but by and bye, when 
the talk ceased and the songs began, he 
thought it might be as well for him to 
follow the ground-ivy, and see the Prin- 
cess Maybloom, not to speak of getting 


150 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

rid of Rough Ruddy, the sickly sheep, 
and the crusty old shepherd. It was a 
long journey; hut he went on, eating 
wild berries by day, sleeping in the hol- 
lows of old trees by night, and never los- 
ing sight of the ground-ivy, which led 
him over height and hollow, bank and 
brush, out of the forest, and along a no- 
ble high road, with fields and villages on 
every side, to a great city, and a low 
old-fashioned gate of the king’s kitchen- 
garden, which was thought too mean for 
the scullions, and had not been opened 
for seven years. 

“ There was no use knocking — the gate 
was overgrown with tall weeds and 
moss ; so, being an active boy, he climbed 
over, and walked through the garden, 
till a white fawn came frisking by, and 
he heard a soft voice saying sorrow- 
fully- 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 151 

“ 4 Come back, come back, my fawn! 
I cannot run and play with you now, my 
feet have grown so heavy’; and looking 
round he saw the loveliest young prin- 
cess in the world, dressed in snow-white, 
and wearing a wreath of roses on her 
golden hair ; but walking slowly, as the 
great people did in Stumpinghame, for 
her feet were as large as the best of 
them. 

After her came six young ladies, 
dressed in white and walking slowly, for 
they could not go before the princess; 
but Fairyfoot was amazed to see that 
their feet were as small as his own. At 
once he guessed that this must be the 
Princess Maybloom, and made her an 
humble bow, saying — 

“ ‘Koyal princess, I have heard of 
your trouble because your feet have 
grown large: in my country that’s all 


152 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


the fashion. For seven years past I 
have been wondering what would make 
mine grow, to no purpose; but I know 
of a certain fountain that will make 
yours smaller and finer than ever they 
were, if the king, your father, gives you 
leave to come with me, accompanied by 
two of your maids that are the least 
given to talking, and the most prudent 
officer in all his household; for it would 
grievously offend the fairies and the 
nightingales to make that fountain 
known . 9 

“When the princess heard that, she 
danced for joy in spite of her large feet, 
and she and her six maids brought 
Fairyfoot before the king and queen, 
where they sat in their palace hall, with 
all the courtiers paying their morn- 
ing compliments. The lords were very 
much astonished to see a ragged, bare- 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 153 

footed boy brought in among them, and 
the ladies thought Princess Maybloom 
must have gone mad; but Fairyfoot, 
making an humble reverence, told his 
message to the king and queen, and of- 
fered to set out with the princess that 
very day. At first the king would not 
believe that there could be any use in 
his offer, because so many great physi- 
cians had failed to give any relief. The 
courtiers laughed Fairyfoot to scorn, 
the pages wanted to turn him out for 
an impudent impostor, and the prime- 
minister said he ought to be put to death 
for high-treason. 

“ Fairyfoot wished himself safe in the 
forest again, or even keeping the sickly 
sheep; but the queen, being a prudent 
woman, said — 

“ ‘I pray your majesty to notice what 
fine feet this boy has. There may be 


154 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

some truth in his story. For the sake 
of our only daughter, I will choose two 
maids who talk the least of all our train, 
and my chamberlain, who is the most 
discreet officer in our household. Let 
them go with the princess: who knows 
but our sorrow may be lessened?’ 

“ After some persuasion the king con- 
sented, though all his councilors advised 
the contrary. So the two silent maids, 
the discreet chamberlain, and her fawn, 
which would not stay behind, were sent 
with Princess Maybloom, and they all 
set out after dinner. Fairyfoot had 
hard work guiding them along the track 
of the ground-ivy. The maids and the 
chamberlain did not like the brambles 
and rough roots of the forest — they 
thought it hard to eat berries and sleep 
in hollow trees; but the princess went 
on with good courage, and at last they 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 155 

reached the grove of rose-trees, and the 
spring bordered with lilies. 

‘ ‘ The chamberlain washed — and 
though his hair had been gray, and 
his face wrinkled, the young courtiers 
envied his beauty for years after. The 
maids washed — and from that day they 
were esteemed the fairest in all the pal- 
ace. Lastly, the princess washed also— 
it could make her no fairer, but the mo- 
ment her feet touched the water they 
grew less, and when she had washed and 
dried them three times, they were as 
small and finely shaped as Fairyfoot’s 
own. There was great joy among them, 
but the boy said sorrowfully — 

“ ‘Oh ! if there had been a well in the 
world to make my feet large, my father 
and mother would not have cast me off, 
nor sent me to live among the shep- 
herds. ’ 


156 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


“ ‘ Cheer up your heart/ said the 
Princess Maybloom; ‘if you want large 
feet, there is a well in this forest that 
will do it. Last summer time, I came 
with my father and his foresters to see 
a great cedar cut down, of which he 
meant to make a money chest. While 
they were busy with the cedar, I saw a 
bramble branch covered with berries. 
Some were ripe and some were green, 
but it was the longest bramble that ever 
grew ; for the sake of the berries, I went 
on and on to its root, which grew hard 
by a muddy-looking well, with banks of 
dark green moss, in the deepest part of 
the forest. The day was warm and dry, 
and my feet were sore with the rough 
ground, so I took off my scarlet shoes, 
and washed my feet in the well ; but as 
I washed they grew larger every min- 
ute, and nothing could ever make them 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 157 

less again. I have seen the bramble this 
clay; it is not far off, and as you have 
shown me the Fair Fountain, I will 
show you the Growing Well.’ 

“Up rose Fairyfoot and Princess 
Maybloom, and went together till they 
found the bramble, and came to where 
its root grew, hard by the muddy-look- 
ing well, with banks of dark green moss 
in the deepest dell of the forest. Fairy- 
foot sat down to wash, but at that min- 
ute he heard a sound of music, and knew 
it was the fairies going to their dancing 
ground. 

“ ‘If my feet grow large , 9 said the 
boy to himself, ‘ how shall I dance with 
them ? 9 So, rising quickly, he took the 
Princess Maybloom by the hand. The 
fawn followed them ; the maids and the 
chamberlain followed it, and all fol- 
lowed the music through the forest. At 


158 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


last they came to the flowery green. 
Eobin Goodfellow welcomed the com- 
pany for Fairy foot’s sake, and gave 
everyone a drink of the fairies’ wine. 
So they danced there from sunset till 
the gray morning, and nobody was 
tired; but before the lark sang, Eobin 
Goodfellow took them all safe home, as 
he used to take Fairyfoot. 

“ There was great joy that day in the 
palace because Princess Maybloom’s 
feet were made small again. The king 
gave Fairyfoot all manner of fine 
clothes and rich jewels; and when they 
heard his wonderful story, he and the 
queen asked him to live with them and 
be their son. In process of time Fairy- 
foot and Princess Maybloom were mar- 
ried, and still live happily. When they 
go to visit at Stumpinghame, they al- 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 159 


ways w r ash their feet in the Growing 
Well, lest the royal family might think 
them a disgrace, but when they come 
back, they make haste to the Fair Foun- 
tain; and the fairies and the nightin- 
gales are great friends to them, as well 
as the maids and the chamberlain, be- 
cause they have told nobody about it. 
and there is peace and quiet yet in the 
grove of rose-trees.” 

Here the voice out of the cushion 
ceased, and two that wore crowns of 
gold, and were clothed in cloth of silver, 
rose up and said — 

‘ ‘ That ’s our story . 9 9 

“Mamma,” said Princess Greeda- 
lind, “if we could find out that Fair 
Fountain, and keep it all to ourselves!” 

“Yes, my daughter, and the Growing 


160 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

Well to wash our money in,” replied 
Queen Wantall; but King Winwealth 
said — 

“ Excepting yesterday’s tale, and the 
two that went before it, I have not heard 
such a story since my brother Wisewit 
went from me, and was lost in the for- 
est. Silverspurs, the fourth of my 
pages, go and bring this maiden a pearl 
necklace.” 

Snowflower received the necklace ac- 
cordingly, gave her thanks, made her 
courtesy, and went down on her grand- 
mother’s chair to the servants’ hall. 
That night they gave her a down pillow, 
and next day she dined on a roast 
chicken. The feasting within and the 
clamor without went on as the days be- 
fore: King Winwealth fell into his ac- 
customed low spirits after supper, and 
sent down a message for Snowflower, 


THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT 161 


which was told her by the master-cook. 
So the little girl went up in her grand- 
mother’s chair, with red shoes, the 
clocked hose, the white satin gown, and 
the pearl necklace on. All the company 
welcomed her with joyful looks, and no 
sooner had she made her courtesy, and 
laid down her head, saying — “ Chair of 
my grandmother, tell me a story,” than 
the clear voice from under the cushion 
said — • 

“ Listen to the story of Childe Char- 
ity.” 


CHAPTER VI 

THE STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 

‘ 6 Once upon a time, there lived in the 
west country a little girl who had neither 
father nor mother ; they both died when 
she was very young, and left their 
daughter to the care of her uncle, who 
was the richest farmer in all that coun- 
try. He had houses and lands, flocks 
and herds, many servants to work about 
his house and fields, a wife who had 
brought him a great dowry, and two fair 
daughters. All their neighbors, being 
poor, looked up to the family — inso- 
much that they imagined themselves 
great people. The father and mother 
162 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 163 


were as proud as peacocks; the daugh- 
ters thought themselves the greatest 
beauties in the world, and not one of the 
family would speak civilly to anybody 
they thought low. 

“Now it happened that though she 
was their near relation, they had this 
opinion of the orphan girl, partly be- 
cause she had no fortune, and partly be- 
cause of her humble, kindly disposition. 
It was said that the more needy and de- 
spised any creature was, the more ready 
was she to befriend it : on which account 
the people of the west country called her 
Childe Charity, and if she had any other 
name, I never heard it. Childe Charity 
was thought very mean in that proud 
house. Her uncle would not own her 
for his niece ; her cousins would not keep 
her company ; and her aunt sent her to 
work in the dairy, and to sleep in the 


164 GRANNY'S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

back garret, where they kept all sorts 
of lumber and dry herbs for the winter. 
All the servants learned the same tune, 
and Childe Charity had more work than 
rest among them. All the day she 
scoured pails, scrubbed dishes, and 
washed crockeryware ; but every night 
she slept in the back garret as sound as 
a princess could in her palace chamber. 

“Her uncle’s house was large and 
white, and stood among green meadows 
by a river’s side. In front it had 
a porch covered with a vine ; behind, it 
had a farmyard and high granaries. 
Within, there were two parlors for the 
rich, and two kitchens for the poor, 
which the neighbors thought wonder- 
fully grand ; and one day in the harvest 
season, when this rich farmer’s corn 
had been all cut down and housed, he 
condescended so far as to invite them 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 165 


to a harvest supper. The west country 
people came in their holiday clothes and 
best behavior. Such heaps of cakes and 
cheese, such baskets of apples and bar- 
rels of ale, had never been at feast be- 
fore; and they were making merry in 
kitchen and parlor, when a poor old 
woman came to the back-door, begging 
for broken victuals and a night’s lodg- 
ing. Her clothes were coarse and 
ragged; her hair was scanty and gray; 
her back was bent ; her teeth were gone. 
She had a squinting eye, a clubbed foot, 
and crooked fingers. In short, she was 
the poorest and ugliest old woman that 
ever came begging. The first who saw 
her was the kitchen-maid, and she or- 
dered her to be gone for an ugly witch. 
The next was the herd-boy, and he 
threw her a bone over his shoulder ; but 
Childe Charity, hearing the noise, came 


166 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 



The old woman begs at the door. 


out from her seat at the foot of the 
lowest table, and asked the old woman 
to take her share of the supper, and 
sleep that night in her bed in the back 
garret. The old woman sat down with- 
out a word of thanks. All the company 
laughed at Childe Charity for giving 




STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 167 


her bed and her supper to a beggar. 
Her proud cousins said it was just like 
her mean spirit, but Childe Charity 
did not mind them. She scraped the 
pots for her supper that night and slept 
on a sack among the lumber, while the 
old woman rested in her warm bed; 
and next morning, before the little girl 
awoke, she was up and gone, without so 
much as saying thank you, or good 
morning. 

“That day all the servants were sick 
after the feast, and mostly cross too — 
so you may judge how civil they were ; 
when, at supper time, who should come 
to the back-door but the old woman, 
again asking for broken victuals and a 
night’s lodging. No one would listen 
to her or give her a morsel, till Childe 
Charity rose from her seat at the foot 
of the lowest table, and kindly asked 


168 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


her to take her supper, and sleep in her 
bed in the back garret. Again the old 
woman sat down without a word. 
Childe Charity scraped the pots for her 
supper, and slept on the sack. In the 
morning the old woman was gone; but 
for six nights after, as sure as the sup- 
per was spread, there was she at the 
back-door, and the little girl regularly 
asked her in. 

“ Childe Charity’s aunt said she 
would let her get enough of beggars. 
Her cousins made continual game of 
what they called her genteel visitor. 
Sometimes the old woman said, 4 Child, 
why don’t you make this bed softer? 
and why are your blankets so thin?’ but 
she never gave her a word of thanks 
nor a civil good morning. At last, on 
the ninth night from her first coming, 
when Childe Charity was getting used 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 169 

to scrape the pots and sleep on the sack, 
the accustomed knock came on the door, 
and there the old woman stood with an 
ugly ashy-colored dog, so stupid-looking 
and clumsy that no herd-boy would keep 
him. 

“ ‘Good evening, my little girl,’ she 
said when Childe Charity opened the 
door. ‘I will not have your supper and 
bed to-night — I am going on a long 
journey to see a friend; but here is a 
dog of mine, whom nobody in all the 
west country will keep for me. He is 
a little cross, and not very handsome; 
but I leave him to your care till the 
shortest day in all the year. Then you 
and I will count for his keeping.’ 

“When the old woman had said the 
last word, she set off with such speed 
that Childe Charity lost sight of her in 
a minute. The ugly dog began to fawn 


170 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


upon her, but he snarled at everybody 
else. The servants said he was a dis- 
grace to the house. The proud cousins 
wanted him drowned, and it was with 
great trouble that Childe Charity got 
leave to keep him in an old ruined cow- 
house. Ugly and cross as the dog was, 
he fawned on her, and the old woman 
had left him to her care. So the little 
girl gave him part of all her meals, and 
when the hard frost came, took him pri- 
vately to her own back garret, because 
the cow-house was damp and cold in the 
long nights. The dog lay quietly on 
some straw in a corner. Childe Char- 
ity slept soundly, but every morning the 
servants would say to her — 

“ ‘What great light and fine talking 
was that in your back garret V 
“ ‘There was no light but the moon 
shining in through the shutterless win- 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 171 


dow, and no talk that I heard/ said 
Childe Charity, and she thought they 
must have been dreaming; but night 
after night, when any of them awoke 
in the dark and silent hour that comes 
before the morning, they saw a light 
brighter and clearer than the Christ- 
mas tire, and heard voices like those of 
lords and ladies in the back garret. 

“ Partly from fear, and partly from 
laziness, none of the servants would 
rise to see what might be there; till at 
length, when the winter nights were at 
the longest, the little parlor-maid, who 
did least work and got most favor, be- 
cause she gathered news for her mis- 
tress, crept out of bed when all the rest 
were sleeping, and set herself to watch 
at a crevice of the door. She saw the 
dog lying quietly in the corner, Childe 
Charity sleeping soundly in her bed, 


172 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


and the moon shining through the shut- 
terless window ; but an hour before day- 
break there came a glare of lights, and 
a sound of far-off bugles. The window 
opened, and in marched a troop of lit- 
tle men clothed in crimson and gold, 
and bearing every man a torch, till 
the room looked bright as day. They 
marched up with great reverence to the 
dog, where he lay on the straw, and the 
most richly clothed among them said — 
“ 4 Royal prince, we have prepared 
the banquet hall. What will your high- 
ness please that we do next?’ 

u Te have done well,’ said the dog. 
‘Now prepare the feast, and see that all 
things be in our first fashion; for the 
princess and I mean to bring a stranger 
who never feasted in our halls before. ’ 

“ ‘Your highness’s commands shall 
be obeyed,’ said the little man, making 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 173 


another reverence ; and he and his com- 
pany passed out of the window. By 
and by there was another glare of lights, 
and a sound like far-off flutes. The 
window opened, and there came in a 
company of little ladies clad in rose- 
colored velvet, and carrying each a crys- 
tal lamp. They also walked with great 
reverence up to the dog, and the gayest 
among them said — 

“ ‘Royal prince, we have prepared 
the tapestry. What will your highness 
please that we do next?’ 

“ ‘Ye have done well,’ said the dog. 
‘Now prepare the robes, and let all 
things be in our first fashion; for the 
princess and I will bring with us a 
stranger who never feasted in our halls 
before.’ 

“ ‘Your highness’s commands shall 
be obeyed,’ said the little lady, making 


174 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


a low courtesy; and she and her com- 
pany passed out through the window, 
which closed quietly behind them. The 
dog stretched himself out upon the 
straw, the little girl turned in her sleep, 
and the moon shone in on the back gar- 
ret. The parlor-maid was so much 
amazed, and so eager to tell this great 
story to her mistress, that she could not 
close her eyes that night, and was up 
before cock-crow ; but when she told it, 
her mistress called her a silly wench to 
have such foolish dreams, and scolded 
her so that the parlor-maid durst not 
mention what she had seen to the serv- 
ants. Nevertheless Childe Charity’s 
aunt thought there might be something 
in it worth knowing; so next night, 
when all the house was asleep, she crept 
out of bed, and set herself to watch at 
the back garret door. There she saw 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 175 

exactly what the maid told her — the 
little men with the torches, and the lit- 
tle ladies with the crystal lamps, come 
in making great reverence to the dog, 
and the same words pass, only he said 
to the one, 4 Now prepare the presents/ 
and to the other, ‘Prepare the jewels;’ 
and when they were gone the dog 
stretched himself on the straw, Childe 
Charity turned in her sleep, and the 
moon shone in on the back garret. 

“The mistress could not close her 
eyes any more than the maid from 
eagerness to tell the story. She woke 
up Childe Charity’s rich uncle before 
cock-crow; but when he heard it, he 
laughed at her for a foolish woman, and 
advised her not to repeat the like be- 
fore the neighbors, lest they should 
think she had lost her senses. The mis- 
tress could say no more, and the day 


176 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


passed ; but that night the master 
thought he would like to see what went 
on in the back garret: so when all the 
house were asleep he slipped out of bed. 
and set himself to watch at the crevice 
in the door. The same thing happened 
again that the maid and the mistress 
saw: the little men in crimson with 
their torches, and the little ladies in 
rose-colored velvet with their lamps, 
came in at the window, and made an 
humble reverence to the ugly dog, the 
one saying, ‘ Royal prince, we have pre- 
pared the presents,’ and the other, 
‘Koyal prince, we have prepared the 
jewels;’ and the dog said to them all, 
‘Ye have done well. To-morrow come 
and meet me and the princess with 
horses and chariots, and let all things 
be in our first fashion: for we will 
bring a stranger from this house who 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 177 


has never traveled with us, nor feasted 
in our halls before . 9 

“The little men and the little ladies 
said, ‘Your highness’s commands shall 
be obeyed.’ When they had gone out 
through the window the ugly dog 
stretched himself out on the straw, 
Childe Charity turned in her sleep, and 
the moon shone in on the back garret. 

“The master could not close his eyes 
any more than the maid or the mistress, 
for thinking of this strange sight. He 
remembered to have heard his grand- 
father say that somewhere near his 
meadows there lay a path leading to the 
fairies’ county, and the hay-makers 
used to see it shining through the gray 
summer morning as the fairy bands 
went home. Nobody had heard or seen 
the like for many years ; but the master 
concluded that the doings in his back 


178 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


garret must be a fairy business, and the 
ugly dog a person of great account. 
His chief wonder was, however, what 
visitor the fairies intended to take from 
his house; and after thinking the mat- 
ter over he was sure it must be one of 
his daughters — they were so handsome, 
and had such fine clothes. 

“ Accordingly, Childe Charity’s rich 
uncle made it his first business that 
morning to get ready a breakfast of 
roast mutton for the ugly dog, and carry 
it to him in the old cow-house ; but not 
a morsel would the dog taste. On the 
contrary, he snarled at the master, and 
would have bitten him if he had not 
run away with his mutton. 

“ 4 The fairies have strange ways,’ 
said the master to himself ; but he called 
his daughters privately, bidding them 
dress themselves in their best, for he 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 179 

could not say which of them might be 
called into great company before night- 
fall. Childe Charity’s proud cousins, 
hearing this, put on the richest of their 
silks and laces, and strutted like pea- 
cocks from kitchen to parlor all day, 
waiting for the call their father spoke 
of, while the little girl scoured and 
scrubbed in the dairy. They were in 
very bad humor when night fell, and 
nobody had come; but just as the fam- 
ily were sitting down to supper the ugly 
dog began to bark, and the old woman’s 
knock was heard at the backdoor. 
Childe Charity opened it, and was go- 
ing to offer her bed and supper as usual, 
when the old woman said — 

“ ‘This is the shortest day in all the 
year, and I am going home to hold a 
feast after my travels. I see you have 
taken good care of my dog, and now if 


180 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

you will come with me to my house, he 
and I will do our best to entertain you. 
Here is our company.’ 

“As the old woman spoke there was 
a sound of far-off flutes and bugles, 
then a glare of lights ; and a great com- 
pany, clad so grandly that they shone 
with gold and jewels, came in open 
chariots, covered with gilding and 
drawn by snow-white horses. The first 
and finest of the chariots was empty. 
The old woman led Childe Charity to it 
by the hand, and the ugly dog jumped 
in before her. The proud cousins, in 
all their finery, had by this time come to 
the door, but nobody wanted them ; and 
no sooner was the old woman and her 
dog within the chariot than a marvelous 
change passed over them, for the ugly 
old woman turned at once to a beauti- 
ful young princess, with long yellow 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 181 


curls and a robe of green and gold, 
while the ugly dog at her side started 
up a fair young prince, with nut-brown 
hair and a robe of purple and silver. 

u< We are,’ said they, as the chariots 
drove on, and the little girl sat aston- 
ished, ‘ a prince and princess of Fairy- 
land, and there was a wager between us 
whether or not there were good people 
still to be found in these false and 
greedy times. One said Yes, and the 
other said No ; and I have lost,’ said the 
prince, ‘and must pay the feast and 
presents.’ 

“Childe Charity never heard any 
more of that story. Some of the farm- 
er’s household, who were looking after 
them through the moonlight night, said 
the chariots had gone one way across 
the meadows, some said they had gone 
another, and till this day they cannot 


182 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


agree upon the direction. But Childe 
Charity went with that noble company 
into a country such as she had never 
seen — for primroses covered all the 
ground, and the light was always like 
that of a summer evening. They took 
her to a royal palace, where there was 
nothing but feasting and dancing for 
seven days. She had robes of pale 
green velvet to wear, and slept in a 
chamber inlaid with ivory. When the 
feast was done, the prince and princess 
gave her such heaps of gold and jew- 
els that she could not carry them, but 
they gave her a chariot to go home in, 
drawn by six white horses ; and on the 
seventh night, which happened to be 
Christmas time, when the farmer’s fam- 
ily had settled in their own minds that 
she would never come back, and were 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 183 


sitting down to supper, they heard the 
sound of her coachman’s bugle, and saw 
her alight with all the jewels and gold 
at the very backdoor where she had 
brought in the ugly old woman. The 
fairy chariot drove away, and never 
came back to that farmhouse after. 
But Childe Charity scrubbed and 
scoured no more, for she grew a great 
lady, even in the eyes of her proud 
cousins.” 

Here the voice out of the cushion 
ceased, and one, with a fair face and a 
robe of pale green velvet, rose from 
among the company, and said — 

“ That’s my story.” 

“ Mamma,” said Princess Greeda- 
lind, “if we had some of those fine char- 
iots!” 


184 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

“ Yes, my daughter,” answered Queen 
Wantall, “and the gold and jewels too !” 
But King Winwealth said — 

“Excepting yesterday’s story, and 
the three that went before it, I have not 
heard such a tale since my brother 
Wisewit went from me, and was lost in 
the forest. High jinks, the third of my 
pages, go and bring this maiden a crim- 
son velvet hat.” 

Snowflower took the hat and thanked 
the king, made her courtesy, and went 
down on her grandmother’s chair to the 
housekeeper ’s parlor. Her blanket was 
covered with a patchwork quilt that 
night; next day she had roast turkey 
and meat for dinner. But the feast 
went on in the palace hall with the usual 
spites and envies; the clamor and com- 
plaints at the gate were still heard 
above all the music; and King Win- 


STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY 185 

wealth fell into his wonted low spirits as 
soon as the supper was over. As usual, 
a message came down from the banquet 
hall, and the chief-butler told Snow- 
flower that she and her chair were 
wanted to tell King Winwealth a 
story. So she went up with all the 
presents on, even to the crimson hat, 
made her courtesy to the good com- 
pany, and had scarcely said, “ Chair of 
my grandmother, tell me a story,” when 
the voice from under the cushion said — 
“ Listen to the story of Sour and 
Civil.” 


CHAPTER YII 

SOUR AND CIVIL 

“Once upon a time there stood upon 
the sea-coast of the west country a cer- 
tain hamlet of low cottages, where no 
one lived but fishermen. All round it 
was a broad beach of snow-white sand, 
where nothing was to be seen but gulls 
and cormorants, and long tangled sea- 
weeds cast up by the tide that came and 
went night and day, summer and win- 
ter. There was no harbor nor port on 
all that shore. Ships passed by at a 
distance, with their white sails set, and 
on the landside there lay wide grassy 
downs, where peasants lived and shep- 
herds fed their flocks. The fishermen 
186 


SOUR AND CIVIL 187 

thought themselves as well off as any 
people in that country. Their families 
never wanted for plenty of herrings and 
mackerel; and what they had to spare 
the landsmen bought from them at cer- 
tain village markets on the downs, giv- 
ing them in exchange butter, cheese, 
and corn. 

“The two best fishermen in that vil- 
lage were the sons of two old widows, 
who had no other children, and hap- 
pened to be near neighbors. Their 
family names were short, for they called 
the one Sour, and the other Civil. 
There was no relationship between 
them that ever I heard of ; but they had 
only one boat, and always fished to- 
gether, though their names expressed 
the difference of their humors — for 
Civil never used a hard word where a 
soft one would do, and when Sour was 


188 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

not snarling at somebody, he was sure 
to be grumbling at everything. 

“ Nevertheless they agreed wonder- 
fully, and were lucky fishers. Both 
were strong, active, and of good cour- 
age. On winter’s night or summer’s 
morning they would steer out to sea 
far beyond the boats of their neighbors, 
and never came home without some fish 
to cook and some to spare. Their 
mothers were proud of them, each in her 
own fashion — for the saying held good, 
4 Like mother, like son.’ Dame Civil 
thought the whole world didn’t hold a 
better than her son; and her boy was 
the only creature at whom Dame Sour 
didn’t scold and frown. The hamlet 
was divided in opinion concerning the 
young fishermen. Some thought Civil 
the best; some said, without Sour he 
would catch nothing. So things went 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


189 


on, till one day about the fall of win- 
ter, when mists were gathering darkly 
on sea and sky, and the air was chill and 
frosty, all the boatmen of the hamlet 
went out to fish, and so did Sour and 
Civil. 

“That day they had not their usual 
luck. Cast their net where they would, 
not a single fish came in. Their neigh- 
bors caught boatsful, and went home, 
Sour said, laughing at them. But when 
the sea was growing crimson with the 
sunset their nets were empty, and they 
were tired. Civil himself did not like 
to go home without fish — it would dam- 
age the high repute they had gained in 
the village. Besides, the sea was calm 
and the evening fair, and, as a last at- 
tempt, they steered still further out, 
and cast their nets beside a rock which 
rose rough and gray above the water, 


190 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


and was called the Merman’s Seat — 
from an old report that the fishermen’s 
fathers had seen the mermen, or sea- 
people, sitting there on moonlight 
nights. Nobody believed that rumor 
now, but the villagers did not like to fish 
there. The water was said to be deep 
beyond measure, and sudden squalls 
were apt to trouble it; but Sour and 
Civil were right glad to see by the mov- 
ing of their lines that there was some- 
thing in their net, and gladder still when 
they found it so heavy that all their 
strength was required to draw it up. 
Scarcely had they landed it on the Mer- 
man’s Seat, when their joy was changed 
to disappointment, for besides a few 
starved mackerel, the net contained 
nothing but a monstrous ugly fish as 
long as Civil (who was taller than 
Sour) , with a huge snout, a long beard, 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


191 


and a skin covered with prickles. 

“ ‘Such a horrid ugly creature!’ said 
Sour, as they shook it out of the net on 
the rough rock, and gathered up the 
mackerel. ‘We needn’t fish here any 
more. How they will mock us in the 
village for staying out so late, and 
bringing home so little ! ’ 

“ ‘Let us try again,’ said Civil, as he 
set his creel of mackerel in the boat. 

“ ‘Hot another cast will I make to- 
night;’ and what more Sour would have 
said, was cut short by the great fish, 
for, looking round at them, it spoke 
out: 

“ ‘I suppose you don’t think me 
worth taking home in your dirty boat; 
but I can tell you that if you were down 
in my country, neither of you would be 
thought fit to keep me company.’ 

“Sour and Civil were terribly aston- 


192 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

ished to hear the fish speak. The first 
could not think of a cross word to say, 
but Civil made answer in his accus- 
tomed manner. 

“ ‘Indeed, my lord, we beg your par- 
don, but our boat is too light to carry 
such a fish as you.’ 

“ ‘You do well to call me lord,’ said 
the fish, ‘for so I am, though it was hard 
to expect you could have known my 
quality in this dress. However, help 
me off the rock, for I must go home; 
and for your civility I will give you my 
daughter in marriage, if you will come 
and see me this day twelvemonth.’ 

“Civil helped the great fish off the 
rock as respectfully as his fear would 
allow him. Sour was so terrified at the 
whole transaction, that he said not a 
word till they got safe home ; but from 
that day forward, when he wanted to 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


193 


put Civil down, it was Ms custom to tell 
Mm and his mother that he would get 
no wife but the ugly fish’s daughter. 

“Old Dame Sour heard this story 
from her son, and told it over the whole 
village. e Some people wondered, but 
the most part laughed at it as a good 
joke; and Civil and his mother were 
never known to be angry but on that oc- 
casion. Dame Civil advised her son 
never to fish with Sour again; and as 
the boat happened to be Ms, Civil got 
an old skiff which one of the fishermen 
was going to break up for firewood, and 
cobbled it up for himself. 

“In that skiff he went to sea alone all 
the winter, and all the summer; but 
though Civil was brave and skillful, he 
could catch little, because Ms boat was 
bad — and everybody but his mother be- 
gan to think him of no value. Sour 


194 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


having the good boat got a new comrade, 
and had the praise of being the best 
fisherman. 

6 6 Poor Civil’s heart was getting low 
as the summer wore away. The fish 
had grown scarce on that coast, and the 
fishermen had to steer further out to 
sea. One evening when he had toiled 
all day and caught nothing, Civil 
thought he would go further too, and 
try his fortune beside the Merman’s 
Kock. The sea was calm, and the even- 
ing fair; Civil did not remember that 
it was the very day on which his trou- 
bles began by the great fish talking to 
him twelve months before. As he 
neared the rock the sun was setting, and 
much astonished was the fisherman to 
see upon it three fair ladies, with sea- 
green gowns and strings of great pearls 
wound round their long fair hair; two 


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SOUR AND CIVIL 197 

of them were waving their hands to him. 
They were the tallest and stateliest la- 
dies he had ever seen; but Civil could 
perceive as he came nearer that there 
was no color in their cheeks, that their 
hair had a strange bluish shade, like 
that of deep sea-water, and there was a 
fiery light in their eyes that frightened 
him. The third, who was less of stat- 
ure, did not notice him at all, but kept 
her eyes fixed on the setting sun. 
Though her look was mournful, Civil 
could see that there was a faint rosy 
bloom on her cheek — that her hair 
was a golden yellow, and her eyes 
were mild and clear like those of his 
mother. 

Ui Welcome! welcome! noble fisher- 
man ! ’ cried the two ladies. ‘ Our father 
has sent us for you to visit him,’ and 
with one bound they leaped into his 


198 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


boat, bringing with them the smaller 
lady, who said — 

“ 6 Oh! bright sun and brave sky that 
I see so seldom V But Civil heard no 
more, for his boat went down miles deep 
in the sea, and he thought himself 
drowning ; but one lady had caught him 
by the right arm, and the other by the 
left, and pulled him into the mouth of 
a rocky cave, where there was no water. 
On they went, still down and down, as 
if on a steep hillside. The cave was 
very long, but it grew wider as they 
came to the bottom. Then Civil saw a 
faint light, and walked out with his fair 
company into the country of the sea- 
people. In that land there grew neither 
grass nor flowers, bushes nor trees, but 
the ground was covered with bright- 
colored shells and pebbles. There were 
hills of marble, and rocks of spar; and 


SOUR AND CIVIL 199 

over all a cold blue sky with no sun, but 
a light clear and silvery as that of the 
harvest moon. The fisherman could see 
no smoking chimneys, but there were 
grottoes in the sparry rocks, and halls 
in the marble hills, where lived the sea- 
people — with whom, as old stories say, 
fishermen and mariners used to meet on 
lonely capes and headlands in the sim- 
ple times of the world. 

* ‘ Forth they came in all directions to 
see the stranger. Mermen with long 
white beards, and mermaids such as 
walk with the fishermen, all clad in sea- 
green, and decorated with strings of 
pearls ; but everyone with the same col- 
orless face, and the same wild light in 
their eyes. The mermaids led Civil up 
one of the marble hills to a great cavern 
with halls and chambers like a palace. 
Their floors were of alabaster, their 


200 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

walls of porphyry, and their ceilings 
inlaid with coral. Thousands of crys- 
tal lamps lit the palace. There were 
seats and tables hewn out of shining 
spar, and a great company sat feasting; 
but what most amazed Civil was the 
quantity of cups, flagons, and goblets, 
made of gold and silver, of such differ- 
ent shapes and patterns that they 
seemed to have been gathered from all 
the countries in the world. In the chief 
hall there sat a merman on a stately 
chair, with more jewels than all the rest 
about him. Before him the mermaids 
brought Civil, saying — 

“ ‘ Father, here is our guest.’ 

“ ‘ Welcome, noble fisherman!’ cried 
the merman, in a voice which Civil re- 
membered with terror, for it was that 
of the great ugly fish; ‘ welcome to our 
halls ! Sit down and feast with us, and 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


201 


then choose which of my daughters you 
will have for a bride/ 

“ Civil had never felt himself so thor- 
oughly frightened in all his life. How 
was he to get home to his mother? and 
what would the old dame think when the 
dark night came without bringing him 
home? There was no use in talking — 
Civil had wisdom enough to see that : he 
therefore tried to take things quietly; 
and, having thanked the merman for his 
invitation, took the seat assigned him 
on his right hand. Civil was hungry 
with the long day at sea, but there was 
no want of fare on that table : meats and 
wines, such as he had never tasted, were 
set before him in the richest of golden 
dishes : but, hungry as he was, the fish- 
erman perceived that everything there 
had the taste and smell of the sea. 

“If the fisherman had been the lord 


202 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

of lands and castles lie would not have 
been treated with more respect. The 
two mermaids sat by him — one filled his 
plate, another filled his goblet; but the 
third only looked at him in a stealthy, 
warning way when nobody perceived 
her. Civil soon finished his share of 
the feast, and then the merman showed 
him all the splendors of his cavern. 
The halls were full of company, some 
feasting, some dancing, and some play- 
ing all manner of games, and in every 
hall was the same abundance of gold and 
silver vessels; but Civil was most as- 
tonished when the merman brought him 
to a marble chamber full of heaps of 
precious stones. There were diamonds 
there whose value the fisherman knew 
not — pearls larger than ever a diver had 
gathered — emeralds, sapphires, and ru- 
bies, that would have made the jewelers 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


203 


of the world wonder ; the merman then 
said — 

“ ‘ This is my eldest daughter’s 
dowry. ’ 

“ ‘Good luck attend her!’ said Civil. 
‘It is the dowry of a queen.’ But the 
merman led him on to another chamber : 
it was filled with heaps of gold coin, 
which seemed gathered from all times 
and nations. The images and inscrip- 
tions of all the kings that ever reigned 
were there ; and the merman said : 

“ ‘This is my second daughter’s 
dowry.’ 

“ ‘Good luck attend her!’ said Civil. 
‘It is a dowry for a princess.’ 

“ ‘So you may say,’ replied the mer- 
man. ‘But make up your mind which 
of the maidens you will marry, for the 
third has no portion at all, because she 
is not my daughter ; but only, as you may 


204 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


see, a poor silly girl taken into my fam- 
ily for charity.’ 

“ ‘Truly, my lord,’ said Civil, whose 
mind was already made up, ‘both your 
daughters are too rich and far too no- 
ble for me ; therefore I choose the third. 
Her poverty will best become my estate 
of a poor fisherman.’ 

“ ‘If you choose her,’ said the mer- 
man, ‘you must wait long for a wed- 
ding. I cannot allow an inferior girl 
to be married before my own daugh- 
ters. And he said a great deal more to 
persuade him ; but Civil would not 
change his mind, and they returned to 
the hall. 

“There was no more attention for 
the fisherman, but everybody watched 
him well. Turn where he would, mas- 
ter or guest had their eyes upon him, 
though he made them the best speeches 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


205 


he could remember, and praised all 
of their splendors. One thing, how- 
ever, was strange — there was no end to 
the fun and the feasting ; nobody seemed 
tired, and nobody thought of sleep. 
When Civil’s very eyes closed with 
weariness, and he slept on one of the 
marble benches — no matter how many 
hours — there were the company feast- 
ing and dancing away; there were the 
thousand lamps within, and the cold 
moonlight without. Civil wished him- 
self back with his mother, his net, and 
his cobbled skiff. Fishing would have 
been easier than those everlasting 
feasts ; but there was nothing else 
among the sea-people — no night of rest, 
no working day. 

66 Civil knew not how time went on, 
till, waking up from a long sleep, he 
saw, for the first time, that the feast 


206 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

was over, and the company gone. The 
lamps still burned, and the tables, with 
all their riches, stood in the empty hall ; 
but there was no face to be seen, no 
sound to be heard, only a low voice sing- 
ing beside the outer door; and there, 
sitting all alone, he found the mild-eyed 
maiden. 

“ ‘Fair lady,’ said Civil, ‘tell me what 
means this quietness, and where are all 
the merry company ? ’ 

“ ‘You are a man of the land,’ said 
the lady, ‘and know not the sea-people. 
They never sleep but once a year, and 
that is at Christmas time. Then they 
go into the deep caverns, where there is 
always darkness, and sleep till the new 
year comes.’ 

“ ‘It is a strange fashion,’ said Civil; 
‘but all folks have their way. Fair 
lady, as you and I are to be good 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


207 


friends, tell me, whence come all the 
wines and meats, and gold and silver 
vessels, seeing there are neither corn- 
fields nor flocks here, workmen nor 
artificers?’ 

“ ‘ The sea-people are heirs of the sea/ 
replied the maiden; ‘to them come all 
the stores and riches that are lost in it. 
I know not the ways by which they 
come ; but the lord of these halls keeps 
the keys of seven gates, where they go 
out and in ; but one of the gates, which 
has not been open for thrice seven years, 
leads to a path under the sea, by which, 
I heard the merman say in his cups, one 
might reach the land. Good fisherman, 
if by chance you gain his favor, and 
ever open that gate, let me bear you 
company; for I was born where the sun 
shines and the grass grows, though my 
country and my parents are unknown 


208 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


to me. All I remember is sailing in a 
great ship, when a storm arose, and it 
was wrecked, and not one soul escaped 
drowning but me. I was then a little 
child, and a brave sailor had bound me 
to a floating plank before he was washed 
away. Here the sea-people came round 
me like great fishes, and I went down 
with them to this rich and weary coun- 
try. Sometimes, as a great favor, they 
take me up with them to see the sun ; but 
that is seldom, for they never like to 
part with one who has seen their coun- 
try; and, fisherman, if you ever leave 
them, remember to take nothing with 
you that belongs to them, for if it were 
but a shell or a pebble, that will give 
them power over you and yours/ 

“ ‘Thanks for your news, fair lady,’ 
said Civil. ‘A lord’s daughter, doubt- 
less, you must have been, while I am but 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


209 


a poor fisherman ; yet, as we have fallen 
into the same misfortune, let us be 
friends, and it may be we shall find 
means to get back to the sunshine to- 
gether. ’ 

“ ‘You are a man of good manners/ 
said the lady, ‘therefore, I accept your 
friendship ; but my fear is that we shall 
never see the sunshine again.* 

“ ‘Fair speeches brought me here/ 
said Civil, ‘and fair speeches may help 
me back ; but be sure I will not go with- 
out you. * 

“This promise cheered the lady’s 
heart, and she and Civil spent that 
Christmas time seeing the wonders 
of the sea country. They wandered 
through caves like that of the great 
merman. The unfinished feast was 
spread in every hall; the tables were 
covered with most costly vessels; and 


210 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


heaps of jewels lay on the floors of un- 
locked chambers. But for the lady’s 
warning, Civil would fain have put 
away some of them for his mother. 

“The poor woman was sad of heart 
by this time, believing her son to be 
drowned. On the first night when he 
did not come home, she had gone down 
to the sea and watched till morning. 
Then the fishermen steered out again, 
and Sour having found his skiff floating 
about, brought it home, saying, the fool- 
ish young man was doubtless lost; but 
what better could be expected when he 
had no discreet person to take care of 
him? 

“This grieved Dame Civil sore. She 
never expected to see her son again; 
but, feeling lonely in her cottage at the 
evening hour when he used to come 
home, the good woman accustomed her- 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


211 


self to go down at sunset and sit beside 
the sea. That winter happened to be 
mild on the coast of the west country, 
and one evening when the Christmas 
time was near, and the rest of the vil- 
lage preparing to make merry, Dame 
Civil sat, as usual, on the sands. The 
tide was ebbing and the sun going down, 
when from the eastward came a lady 
clad in black, mounted on a black pal- 
frey, and followed by a squire in the 
same sad clothing; as the lady came 
near, she said — 

“ ‘Woe is me for my daughter, and 
for all that have lost by the sea ! ’ 

“ ‘You say well, noble lad y,’ said 
Dame Civil. ‘Woe is me also for my 
son, for I have none beside him. ’ 

“When the lady heard that, she 
alighted from her palfrey, and sat down 
by the fisherman’s mother, saying — 


212 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


“ ‘ Listen to my story. I was the 
widow of a great lord in the heart of 
the east country. He left me a fair 
castle, and an only daughter, who was 
the joy of my heart. Her name was 
Faith Feignless ; but, while she was yet 
a child, a great fortune-teller told me 
that my daughter would marry a fisher- 
man. I thought this would be a great 
disgrace to my noble family, and, there- 
fore, sent my daughter with her nurse 
in a good ship, bound for a certain city 
where my relations live, intending to 
follow myself as soon as I could get my 
lands and castles sold. But the ship was 
wrecked, and my daughter drowned; 
and I have wandered over the world 
with my good Squire Trusty, mourning 
on every shore with those who have lost 
friends by the sea. Some with whom I 
have mourned grew to forget their sor- 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


213 


row, and would lament with me no 
more; others being sour and selfish, 
mocked me, saying my grief was noth- 
ing to them: but you have good man- 
ners, and I will remain with you, how- 
ever humble be your dwelling. My 
squire carries gold enough to pay all 
our charges.’ So the mourning lady 
and her good Squire Trusty went home 
with Dame Civil, and she was no longer 
lonely in her sorrow, for when the dame 
said — 

“ ‘Oh! if my son were alive, I should 
never let him go to sea in a cobbled 
skiff ! ’ the lady answered — 

“ ‘Oh! if my daughter were but liv- 
ing, I should never think it a disgrace 
though she married a fisherman!’ 

“The Christmas passed as it always 
does in the west country — shepherds 
made merry on the downs, and fisher- 


214 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


men on the shore ; but when the merry- 
makings and ringing of bells were over 
in all the land, the sea-people woke up 
to their continual feasts and dances. 
Like one that had forgotten all that was 
past, the merman again showed Civil 
the chamber of gold and the chamber of 
jewels, advising him to choose between 
his two daughters; but the fisherman 
still answered that the ladies were too 
noble, and far too rich for him. Yet as 
he looked at the glittering heap, Civil 
could not help recollecting the poverty 
of the west country, and the thought 
slipped out — 

“ ‘How happy my old neighbors 
would be to find themselves here!’ 

“ ‘Say you so?’ said the merman, who 
always wanted visitors. 

“ ‘Yes,’ said Civil, ‘I have neighbors 
up yonder in the west country whom it 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


215 


would be hard to send home again if 
they got sight of half this wealth'; and 
the honest fisherman thought of Dame 
Sour and her son. 

“The merman was greatly delighted 
with these speeches — he thought there 
was a probability of getting many land- 
people down, and by and by said to 
Civil— 

“ ‘ Suppose you took up a few jewels, 
and went up to tell your poor neighbors 
how welcome we might make them?' 

“The prospect of getting back to his 
country rejoiced Civil's heart, but he 
had promised not to go without the 
lady, and therefore, answered pru- 
dently what was indeed true — 

“ ‘Many thanks, my lord, for choos- 
ing such a humble man as I am to bear 
your message; but the people of the 
west country never believe anything 


216 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


without two witnesses at the least; yet 
if the poor maid whom I have chosen 
could be permitted to accompany me, I 
think they would believe us both. ’ 

“The merman said nothing in reply, 
but his people, who had heard Civil’s 
speech, talked it over among themselves 
till they grew sure that the whole west 
country would come down, if they only 
had news of the riches, and petitioned 
their lord to send up Civil and the poor 
maid by way of letting them know. 

“As it seemed for the public good, 
the great merman consented ; but, being 
determined to have them back, he 
gathered out of his treasure chamber 
some of the largest pearls and diamonds 
that lay convenient, and said — 

“ 4 Take these as a present from me, 
to let the west country people see what 
I can do for my visitors. ’ 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


217 


“ Civil and the lady took the presents, 
saying — 

“ ‘Oh, my lord, you are too generous. 
We want nothing hut the pleasure of 
telling of your marvelous riches up 
yonder . 9 

“ ‘Tell everybody to come down, and 
they will get the like, ’ said the merman ; 
‘and follow my eldest daughter, for she 
carries the key of the land gate/ 

“Civil and the lady followed the mer- 
maid through a winding gallery, which 
led from the chief banquet hall far into 
the marble hill. All was dark, and they 
had neither lamp nor torch, but at the 
end of the gallery they came to a great 
stone gate, which creaked like thunder 
on its hinges. Beyond that there was 
a narrow cave, sloping up and up like 
a steep hill-side. Civil and the lady 
thought they would never reach the top ; 


218 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

but at last they saw a gleam of daylight, 
then a strip of blue sky, and the mer- 
maid bade them stoop and creep 
through what seemed a crevice in the 
ground, and both stood up on the broad 
sea-beach as the day was breaking and 
the tide ebbing fast away. 

“ ‘Good times to you among your 
west country people,’ said the mermaid. 
‘Tell any of them that would like to 
come down to visit us, that they must 
come here midway between the high 
and low water-mark, when the tide is 
going out at morning or evening. Call 
thrice on the sea-people, and we will 
show them the way.’ 

“Before they could make answer, she 
had sunk down from their sight, and 
there was no track or passage there, but 
all was covered by the loose sand and 
sea-shells. 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


219 


“ ‘Now,’ said the lady to Civil, ‘we 
have seen the heavens once more, and 
we will not go back. Cast in the mer- 
man’s present quickly before the sun 
rises’; and taking the bag of pearls and 
diamonds, she flung it as far as she 
could into the sea. 

“ Civil never was so unwilling to part 
with anything as that bag, but he 
thought it better to follow a good ex- 
ample, and tossed his into the sea also. 
They thought they heard a long moan 
come up from the waters ; but Civil saw 
his mother’s chimney beginning to 
smoke, and with the fair lady in her 
sea-green gown he hastened to the good 
dame’s cottage. 

“The whole village were wakened 
that morning with cries of l ' Welcome 
back, my son!’ * Welcome back, my 
daughter!’ for the mournful lady knew 


220 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


it was her lost daughter, Faith Feign- 
less, whom the fisherman had brought 
back, and all the neighbors assembled 
to hear their story. When it was told, 
everybody praised Civil for the pru- 
dence he had shown in his difficulties, 
except Sour and his mother: they did 
nothing but rail upon him for losing 
such great chances of making himself 
and the whole country rich. At last, 
when they heard over and over again of 
the merman’s treasures, neither mother 
nor son would consent to stay any 
longer in the west country, and as no- 
body persuaded them, and they would 
not take Civil’s direction, Sour got out 
his boat and steered away with his 
mother toward the Merman’s Eock. 
From that voyage they never came back 
to the hamlet. Some say they went 
down and lived among the sea-people; 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


221 


others say — I know not how they 
learned it — that Sour and his mother 
grumbled and growled so much that 
even the sea-people grew weary of them, 
and turned them and their boat out on 
the open sea. What part of the world 
they chose to land on nobody is certain : 
by all accounts they have been seen 
everywhere, and I should not be sur- 
prised if they were in this good com- 
pany. As for Civil, he married Faith 
Feignless, and became a great lord.” 

Here the voice ceased, and two that 
were clad in sea-green silk, with coro- 
nets of pearls, rose up, and said — 

“ That’s our story.” 

“Oh, mamma, if we could get down 
to that country!” said Princess Greed- 
alind. 

“And bring all the treasures back 


222 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

with us!” answered Queen Wantall. 

“ Except the tale of yesterday, and 
the four that went before it, I have not 
heard such a story since my brother 
Wisewit went from me, and was lost in 
the forest,” said King Winwealth, 
“Readyrein, the second of my pages, 
rise, and bring this maiden a purple vel- 
vet mantle.” 

The mantle was brought, and Snow- 
flower having thanked the king, went 
down upon her grandmother’s chair; 
but that night the little girl went 
no further than the lowest banquet hall, 
where she was bidden to stay and share 
the feast, and sleep hard by in a wains- 
cot chamber. That she was well enter- 
tained there is no doubt, for King Win- 
wealth had been heard to say that it was 
not clear to him how he could have got 
through the seven days’ feast without 


SOUR AND CIVIL 


223 


her grandmother’s chair and its stories; 
but next day being the last of the seven, 
things were gayer than ever in the pal- 
ace. The music had never been so 
merry, the dishes so rich, or the wines 
so rare ; neither had the clamors at the 
gate ever been so loud, nor the disputes 
and envies so many in the halls. 

Perhaps it was these doings that 
brought the low spirits earlier than 
usual on King Winwealth, for after 
dinner his majesty fell into them so 
deeply that a message came down from 
the highest banquet hall, and the cup- 
bearer told Snowflower to go up with 
her chair, for King Winwealth wished 
to hear another story. 

Now the little girl put on all her 
finery, from the pink shoes to the pur- 
ple mantle, and went up with her chair, 
looking so like a princess that the whole 


224 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

company rose to welcome her. But 
having made her courtesy, and laid 
down her head, saying, “ Chair of my 
grandmother, tell me a story,” the clear 
voice from under the cushion an- 
swered — 

4 ‘Listen to the Story of Merrymind.” 


CHAPTER VIII 

THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 

“Once upon a time there lived in the 
north country a certain poor man and 
his wife, who had two corn-fields, three 
cows, five sheep, and thirteen children. 
Twelve of these children were called by 
names common in the north country — 
Hardhead, Stiffneck, Tightfingers, and 
the like; but when the thirteenth came 
to be named, either the poor man and 
his wife could remember no other name, 
or something in the child’s look made 
them think it proper, for they called 
him Merrymind, which the neighbors 
thought a strange name, and very much 

225 


226 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


above their station: however, as they 
showed no other signs of pride, the 
neighbors let that pass. Their thirteen 
children grew taller and stronger every 
year, and they had hard work to keep 
them in bread; but when the youngest 
was old enough to look after his father’s 
sheep, there happened the great fair, to 
which everybody in the north country 
went, because it came only once in seven 
years. It was held on midsummer-day, 
— not in any town or village, but on a 
green plain, lying between a broad 
river and a high hill, where it was said 
the fairies used to dance in old and 
merry times. 

“ Merchants and dealers of all sorts 
crowded to that fair from far and near. 
There was nothing known in the north 
country that could not be bought or sold 
in it, and neither old nor young were 



Merrymind at the fair. 







THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 229 

willing to go home without a fairing. 
The poor man who owned this large 
family could afford them little to spend 
in such ways ; hut as the fair happened 
only once in seven years, he would not 
show a poor spirit. Therefore, calling 
them about him, he opened the leathern 
bag in which his savings were stored, 
and gave every one of the thirteen a 
silver penny. 

“The boys and girls had never before 
owned so much pocket-money ; and, 
wondering what they should buy, they 
dressed themselves in their holiday 
clothes, and set out with their father 
and mother to the fair. When they 
came near the ground that midsummer 
morning, the stalls, heaped up with all 
manner of merchandise, from ginger- 
bread upwards, the tents for fun and 
feasting, the puppet-shows, the rope- 


230 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


dancers, and the crowd of neighbors 
and strangers, all in their best attire, 
made those simple people think their 
north country fair the finest sight in the 
world. The day wore away in seeing 
wonders, and in chatting with old 
friends. It was surprising how far sil- 
ver pennies went in those days ; but be- 
fore evening twelve of the thirteen had 
got fairly rid of their money. One 
bought a pair of brass buckles, another 
a crimson riband, a third green garters ; 
the father bought a tobacco-pipe, the 
mother a horn snuffbox — in short, all 
had provided themselves with fairings 
except Merrymind. 

“The cause of the silver penny re- 
maining in his pocket was that he had 
set his heart upon a fiddle ; and fiddles 
enough there were in the fair — small 
and large, plain and painted : he looked 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 231 

at and priced the most of them, but 
there was not one that came within the 
compass of a silver penny. His father 
and mother warned him to make haste 
with his purchase, for they must all go 
home at sunset, because the way was 
long. 

“The sun was getting low and red 
upon the hill ; the fair was growing thin, 
for many dealers had packed up their 
stalls and departed; but there was a 
mossy hollow in the great hill-side, to 
which the outskirts of the fair had 
reached, and Merrymind thought he 
would see what might be there. The 
first thing was a stall of fiddles, kept by 
a young merchant from a far country, 
who had many customers, his goods 
being fine and new ; but hard by sat a 
little gray-haired man, at whom every- 
body had laughed that day, because he 


232 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


had nothing on his stall but one old 
dingy fiddle, and all its strings were 
broken. Nevertheless, the little man 
sat as stately, and cried, ‘ Fiddles to 
sell!’ as if he had the best stall in the 
fair. 

“ ‘Buy a fiddle, my young master V he 
said, as Merrymind came forward. 
‘You shall have it cheap: I ask but a 
silver penny for it; and if the strings 
were mended, its like would not be in 
the north country.’ 

“Merrymind thought this a great bar- 
gain. He was a handy boy, and could 
mend the strings while watching his 
father’s sheep. So down went the sil- 
ver penny on the little man’s stall, and 
up went the fiddle under Merrymind ’s 
arm. 

“ ‘Now, my young master,’ said the 
little man, ‘you see that we merchants 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 233 

have a deal to look after, and if you 
help me to bundle up my stall, I will tell 
you a wonderful piece of news about 
that fiddle.’ 

“Merrymind was good-natured and 
fond of news, so he helped him to tie up 
the loose boards and sticks that com- 
posed his stall with an old rope, and 
when they were hoisted on his back like 
a fagot, the little man said — 

“ ‘ About that fiddle, my young mas- 
ter: it is certain the strings can never 
be mended, nor made new, except by 
threads from the night-spinners, which, 
if you get, it will be a good penny- 
worth’; and up the hill he ran like a 
grayhound. 

“Merrymind thought that was queer 
news, but being given to hope the best, 
he believed the little man was only jest- 
ing, and made haste to join the rest of 


234 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

the family, who were soon on their way 
home. When they got there everyone 
showed his bargain, and Merrymind 
showed his fiddle; but his brothers and 
sisters laughed at him for buying such 
a thing when he had never learned to 
play. His sisters asked him what 
music he could bring out of broken 
strings ; and his father said — 

“ ‘Thou hast shown little prudence in 
laying out thy first penny, from which 
token I fear thou wilt never have many 
to lay out.’ 

“In short, everybody threw scorn on 
Merrymind ’s bargain except his mother. 
She, good woman, said if he laid out one 
penny ill, he might lay out the next bet- 
ter ; and who knew but his fiddle would 
be of use some day? To make her 
words good, Merrymind fell to repair- 
ing the strings — he spent all his time, 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 235 

both night and day, upon them; but, 
true to the little man’s parting words, 
no mending would stand, and no string 
would hold on that fiddle. Merrymind 
tried everything, and wearied himself 
to no purpose. At last he thought of 
inquiring after people who spun at 
night; and this seemed such a good joke 
to the north country people, that they 
wanted no other till the next fair. 

“In the meantime Merrymind lost 
credit at home and abroad. Everybody 
believed in his father’s prophecy; his 
brothers and sisters valued him no more 
than a herd-boy ; the neighbors thought 
he must turn out a scape-grace. Still 
the boy would not part with his fiddle. 
It was his silver pennyworth, and he 
had a strong hope of mending the 
strings for all that had come and gone ; 
but since nobody at home cared for him 


236 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


except his mother, and as she had 
twelve other children, he resolved to 
leave the scorn behind him, and go to 
seek his fortune. 

“The family were not very sorry to 
hear of that intention, being in a man- 
ner ashamed of him ; besides, they could 
spare one out of thirteen. His father 
gave him a barley cake, and his mother 
her blessing. All his brothers and sis- 
ters wished him well. Most of the 
neighbors hoped that no harm would 
happen to him ; and Merrymind set out 
one summer morning with the broken- 
stringed fiddle under his arm. 

“There were no highways then in the 
north country — people took whatever 
path pleased them best; so Merrymind 
went over the fair ground and up the 
hill, hoping to meet the little man, and 
learn something of the night-spinners. 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 237 

The hill was covered with heather to 
the top, and he went up without meet- 
ing anyone. On the other side it was 
steep and rocky, and after a hard scram- 
ble down, he came to a narrow glen all 
overgrown with wild furze and bram- 
bles. Merrymind had never met with 
briars so sharp, but he was not the boy 
to turn back readily, and pressed on in 
spite of torn clothes and scratched 
hands, till he came to the end of the 
glen, where two paths met : one of them 
wound through a pine-wood, he knew 
not how far, but it seemed green and 
pleasant. The other was a rough, stony 
way leading to a wide valley surrounded 
by high hills, and overhung by a dull, 
thick mist, though it was yet early in 
the summer evening. 

“ Merrymind was weary with his long 
journey, and stood thinking of what 


238 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

path to choose, when, by the way of the 
valley, there came an old man as tall 
and large as any three men of the north 
country. His white hair and beard 
hung like tangled flax about him; his 
clothes were made of sackcloth; and on 
his back he carried a heavy burden of 
dust heaped high in a great pannier. 

“ ‘ Listen to me, you lazy vagabond!’ 
he said, coming near to Merrymind: ‘if 
you take the way through the wood I 
know not what will happen to you ; but 
if you choose this path you must help 
me with my pannier, and I can tell you 
it’s no trifle.’ 

“ ‘Well, father,’ said Merrymind, 
‘you seem tired, and I am younger than 
you, though not quite so tall ; so, if you 
please, I will choose this w T ay, and help 
you along with the pannier.’ 

“Scarce had he spoken when the huge 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 239 

man caught hold of him, firmly bound 
one side of the pannier to his shoulders 
with the same strong rope that fastened 
it on his own back, and never ceased 
scolding and calling him names as they 
marched over the stony ground together. 
It was a rough way and a heavy burden, 
and Merrymind wished himself a thou- 
sand times out of the old man’s com- 
pany, but there was no getting off ; and 
at length, in hopes of beguiling the way, 
and putting him in better humor, he be- 
gan to sing an old rhyme which his 
mother had taught him. By this time 
they had entered the valley, and the 
night had fallen very dark and cold. 
The old man ceased scolding, and by a 
feeble glimmer of the moonlight, which 
now began to shine, Merrymind saw 
that they were close by a deserted cot- 
tage, for its door stood open to the night 


240 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


winds. Here the old man paused, and 
loosed the rope from his own and 
Merrymind ’s shoulders. 

“ 4 For seven times seven years,’ he 
said, ‘have I carried this pannier, and 
no one ever sang while helping me be- 
fore. Night releases all men, so I re- 
lease you. Where will you sleep — by 
my kitchen fire, or in that cold cot- 
tage^’ 

“Merrymind thought he had got quite 
enough of the old man’s society, and 
therefore answered — 

“ ‘The cottage, good father, if you 
please.’ 

“ ‘A sound sleep to you, then!’ said 
the old man, and he went off with his 
pannier. 

“Merrymind stepped into the de- 
serted cottage. The moon was shining 
through door and window, for the mist 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 241 

was gone, and the night looked clear as 
day ; but in all the valley he could hear 
no sound, nor was there any trace of in- 
habitants in the cottage. The hearth 
looked as if there had not been a fire 
there for years. A single article of 
furniture was not to be seen ; but Merry- 
mind was sore weary, and, laying him- 
self down in a corner, with his fiddle 
close by, he fell fast asleep. 

“The floor was hard, and his clothes 
were thin, but all through his sleep 
there came a sweet sound of singing 
voices and spinning-wheels, and Merry- 
mind thought he must have been dream- 
ing when he opened his eyes next morn- 
ing on the bare and solitary house. 
The beautiful night was gone, and the 
heavy mist had come back. There was 
no blue sky, no bright sun to be seen. 
The light was cold and gray, like that 


242 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

of mid-winter; but Merrymind ate the 
half of his barley cake, drank from a 
stream hard by, and went out to see the 
valley. 

“It was full of inhabitants, and they 
were all busy in houses, in fields, in 
mills, and in forges. The men ham- 
mered and delved ; the women scrubbed 
and scoured; the very children were 
hard at work: but Merrymind could 
hear neither talk nor laughter among 
them. Every face looked careworn and 
cheerless, and every word was some- 
thing about work or gain. 

“Merrymind thought this unreason- 
able, for everybody there appeared 
rich. The women scrubbed in silk, the 
men delved in scarlet. Crimson cur- 
tains, marble floors, and shelves of sil- 
ver tankards were to be seen in every 
house; but their owners took neither 


THE STORY OP MERRYMIND 243 

ease nor pleasure in them, and every- 
one labored as it were for life. 

“The birds of that valley did not sing 
— they were too busy pecking and build- 
ing. The cats did not lie by the fire — 
they were all on the watch for mice. 
The dogs went out after hares on their 
own account. The cattle and sheep 
grazed as if they were never to get an- 
other mouthful ; and the herdsmen were 
all splitting wood or making baskets. 

“In the midst of the valley there 
stood a stately castle, but instead of 
park and gardens, brew-houses and 
washing-greens lay round it. The gates 
stood open, and Merrymind ventured in. 
The courtyard was full of coopers. 
They were churning in the banquet hall. 
They were making cheese on the dais, 
and spinning and weaving in all its 
principal chambers. In the highest 


244 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


tower of that busy castle, at a window 
from which she could see the whole val- 
ley, there sat a noble lady. Her dress 
was rich, but of a dingy drab color. 
Her hair was iron-gray; her look was 
sour and gloomy. Bound her sat twelve 
maidens of the same aspect, spinning on 
ancient distaffs, and the lady spun as 
hard as they, but all the yarn they made 
was jet black. 

“No one in or out of the castle would 
reply to Merrymind’s salutations, nor 
answer him any questions. The rich 
men pulled out their purses, saying, 
‘Come and work for wages !’ The poor 
men said, ‘We have no time to talk!’ 
A cripple by the wayside wouldn’t 
answer him, he was so busy begging; 
and a child by a cottage-door said it 
must go to work. All day Merrymind 
wandered about with his broken- 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 245 

stringed fiddle, and all day he saw the 
great old man marching round and 
round the valley with his heavy burden 
of dust. 

“ ‘ It is the dreariest valley that ever 
I beheld !’ he said to himself. ‘And no 
place to mend my fiddle in; but one 
would not like to go away without 
knowing what has come over the people, 
or if they have always worked so hard 
and heavily.’ 

“By this time the night again came 
on : he knew it by the clearing mist and 
the rising moon. The people began to 
hurry home in all directions. Silence 
came over house and field ; and near the 
deserted cottage Merrymind met the old 
man. 

“ ‘Good father,’ he said, ‘I pray you 
tell me what sport or pastime have the 
people of this valley?’ 


246 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

“ 6 Sport and pastime!’ cried the old 
man, in great wrath. ‘ Where did you 
hear of the like ? We work by day and 
sleep by night. There is no sport in 
Dame Dreary’s land!’ and, with a 
hearty scolding for his idleness and 
levity, he left Merrymind to sleep once 
more in the cottage. 

“That night the boy did not sleep so 
sound: though too drowsy to open his 
eyes, he was sure there had been singing 
and spinning near him all night; and, 
resolving to find out what this meant 
before he left the valley, Merrymind 
ate the other half of his barley cake, 
drank again from the stream, and went 
out to see the country. 

“The same heavy mist shut out sun 
and sky ; the same hard work went for- 
ward wherever he turned his eyes ; and 
the great old man with the dust-pan- 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 247 

nier strode on his accustomed round. 
Merrymind could find no one to answer 
a single question ; rich and poor wanted 
him to work still more earnestly than 
the day before; and fearing that some 
of them might press him into service, he 
wandered away to the furthest end of 
the valley. 

“ There, there was no work, for the 
land lay bare and lonely, and was 
bounded by gray crags, as high and 
steep as any castle-wall. There was no 
passage or outlet, but through a great 
iron gate secured with a heavy padlock : 
close by it stood a white tent, and in the 
door a tall soldier, with one arm, stood 
smoking a long pipe. He was the first 
idle man Merrymind had seen in the 
valley, and his face looked to him like 
that of a friend ; so coming up with his 
best bow, the boy said — 


248 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


“ ‘Honorable master soldier, please 
to tell me what country is this, and why 
do the people work so hard?’ 

“ ‘Are you a stranger in this place, 
that you ask such questions?’ answered 
the soldier. 

“ ‘Yes,’ said Merrymind; ‘I came but 
the evening before yesterday.’ 

“ ‘Then I am sorry for you, for here 
you must remain. My orders are to let 
everybody in and nobody out; and the 
giant with the dust-pannier guards the 
other entrance night and day,’ said the 
soldier. 

“ ‘That is bad news,’ said Merry- 
mind; ‘but since I am here, please to 
tell me why were such laws made, and 
what is the story of this valley?’ 

“ ‘Hold my pipe, and I will tell you,’ 
said the soldier, ‘for nobody else will 
take the time. This valley belongs to 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 249 

the lady of yonder castle, whom, for 
seven times seven years, men have 
called Dame Dreary. She had another 
name in her youth — they called her 
Lady Littlecare; and then the valley 
was the fairest spot in all the north 
country. The sun shone brighest there ; 
the summers lingered longest. Fairies 
danced on the hilltops; singing-birds 
sat on all the trees. Strongarm, the 
last of the giants, kept the pine-forest, 
and hewed yule logs out of it, when he 
was not sleeping in the sun. Two fair 
maidens, clothed in white, with silver 
wheels on their shoulders, came by 
night, and spun golden threads by the 
hearth of every cottage. The people 
wore homespun, and drank out of horn ; 
but they had merry times. There were 
May-games, harvest-homes and Christ- 
mas cheer among them. Shepherds 


250 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


piped on the hill-sides, reapers sang in 
the fields, and laughter came with the 
red firelight out of every house in the 
evening. All that was changed, nobody 
knows how, for the old folks who re- 
membered it are dead. Some say it 
was because of a magic ring which fell 
from the lady’s finger; some because of 
a spring in the castle-court which went 
dry. However it was, the lady turned 
Dame Dreary. Hard work and hard 
times overspread the valley. The mist 
came down; the fairies departed; the 
giant Strongarm grew old, and took up 
a burden of dust; and the night-spin- 
ners were seen no more in any man’s 
dwelling. They say it will be so till 
Dame Dreary lays down her distaff, 
and dances; but all the fiddlers of the 
north country have tried their merriest 
tunes to no purpose. The king is a wise 


THE STORY OP MERRYMIND 251 


prince and a great warrior. He has 
filled two treasure-houses, and con- 
quered all his enemies ; but he cannot 
change the order of Dame Dreary’s 
land. I cannot tell you what great re- 
wards he offered to any who could do it ; 
but when no good came of his offers, the 
king feared that similar fashions might 
spread among his people, and therefore 
made a law that whomsoever entered 
should not leave it. His majesty took 
me captive in war, and placed me here 
to keep the gate, and save his subjects 
trouble. If I had not brought my pipe 
with me, I should have been working 
as hard as any of them by this time, 
with my one arm. Young master, if you 
take my advice you will learn to smoke. ’ 
“ ‘If my fiddle were mended it would 
be better,’ said Merrymind; and he sat 
talking with the soldier till the mist be- 


252 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


gan to clear and the moon to rise, and 
then went home to sleep in the deserted 
cottage. 

“It was late when he came near it, 
and the moonlight night looked lovely 
beside the misty day. Merrymind 
thought it was a good time for trying 
to get out of the valley. There was no 
foot abroad, and no appearance of the 
giant; but as Merrymind drew near to 
where the two paths met, there was he 
fast asleep beside a fire of pinecones, 
with his pannier at his head, and a heap 
of stones close by him. Ms that your 
kitchen-fire?’ thought the boy to him- 
self, and he tried to steal past; but 
Strongarm started up, and pursued him 
with stones, and calling him bad names, 
half way back to the cottage. 

“Merrymind was glad to run the 
whole way for fear of him. The door 


THE STORY OP MERRYMIND 253 

was still open, and the moon was shin- 
ing in; but by the fireless hearth there 
sat two fair maidens, all in white, spin- 
ning on silver wheels, and singing to- 
gether a blithe and pleasant tune like 
the larks on May-morning. Merry- 
mind could have listened all night, but 
suddenly he bethought him that these 
must be the night-spinners, whose 
threads would mend his fiddle ; so, step- 
ping with reverence and good courage, 
he said — 

“ ‘Honorable ladies, I pray you give 
a poor boy a thread to mend his fiddle- 
strings.’ 

“ ‘For seven times seven years,’ said 
the fair maidens, ‘have we spun by night 
in this deserted cottage, and no mortal 
has seen or spoken to us. Go and 
gather sticks through all the valley to 
make a fire for us on this cold hearth, 


254 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


and each of us will give you a thread for 
your pains.’ 

“Merrymind took his broken fiddle 
with him, and went through all the val- 
ley gathering sticks by the moonlight; 
but so careful were the people of Dame 
Dreary’s land, that scarce a stick could 
be found, and the moon was gone, and 
the misty day had come before he was 
able to come back with a small fagot. 
The cottage-door was still open ; the fair 
maidens and their silver wheels were 
gone ; but on the floor where they sat lay 
two long threads of gold. 

“Merrymind first heaped up his fagot 
on the hearth, to be ready against their 
coming at night, and next took up the 
golden threads to mend his fiddle. 
Then he learned the truth of the little 
man’s saying at the fair, for no sooner 
were the strings fastened with those 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 255 

golden threads than they became firm. 
The old dingy fiddle too began to shine 
and glisten, and at length it was golden 
also. This sight made Merrymind so 
joyful, that, unlearned as he was in 
music, the boy tried to play. Scarce 
had his bow touched the strings when 
they began to play of themselves the 
same blithe and pleasant tune which the 
night-spinners sang together. 

“ ‘Some of the workers will stop for 
the sake of this tune,’ said Merrymind, 
and he went out along the valley with 
his fiddle. The music filled the air ; the 
busy people heard it; and never was 
such a day seen in Dame Dreary’s land. 
The men paused in their delving; the 
women stopped their scrubbing; the 
little children dropped their work; and 
everyone stood still in their places 
while Merrymind and his fiddle passed 


256 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


on. When he came to the castle, the 
coopers cast down their tools in the 
court; the churning and cheese-making 
ceased in the banquet hall; the looms 
and spinning-wheels stopped in the 
principal chambers ; and Dame Dreary’s 
distaff stood still in her hand. 

“Merrymind played through the halls 
and up the tower-stairs. As he came 
near, the dame cast down her distaff, 
and danced with all her might. All her 
maidens did the like ; and as they danced 
she grew young again — the sourness 
passed from her looks, and the grayness 
from her hair. They brought her the 
dress of white and cherry-color she 
used to wear in her youth, and she was 
no longer Dame Dreary, but the Lady 
Littlecare, with golden hair, and laugh- 
ing eyes, and cheeks like summer roses. 







0 

Ls 






osnw 



nlM 


Dame Dreary dances and grows strong. 



















THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 259 


“Then a sound of merrymaking came 
up from the whole valley. The heavy 
mist rolled away over the hills ; the sun 
shone out ; the blue sky was seen ; a clear 
spring gushed up in the castle-court ; a 
white falcon came from the east with a 
golden ring, and put it on the lady’s 
finger. After that Strongarm broke 
the rope, tossed the pannier of dust 
from his shoulder, and lay down to 
sleep in the sun. That night the fairies 
danced on the hill-tops; and the night- 
spinners, with their silver wheels, were 
seen by every hearth, and no more 
in the deserted cottage. Everybody 
praised Merrymind and his fiddle ; and 
when news of his wonderful playing 
came to the king’s ears, he commanded 
the iron gate to be taken away ; he made 
the captive soldier a free man ; and pro- 
moted Merrymind to be his first fiddler, 


260 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

which under that wise monarch was the 
highest post in his kingdom. 

“As soon as Merrymind’s family and 
neighbors heard of the high preferment 
his fiddle had gained for him, they 
thought music must be a good thing, 
and man, woman, and child took to fid- 
dling. It is said that none of them ever 
learned to play a single tune except 
Merrymind’s mother, on whom her son 
bestowed great presents.” 

Here the voice ceased, and one clothed 
in green and russet-colored velvet rose 
up with a golden fiddle in his hand, and 
said — 

“That’s my story.” 

“Excepting yesterday’s tale, and the 
five that went before it, said King Win- 
wealth, “I have not heard such a story as 
that since my brother Wisewit went 


THE STORY OF MERRYMIND 261 

from me, and was lost in the forest. 
Fairfortune, the first of my pages, go 
and bring this maiden a golden girdle. 
And since her grandmother’s chair can 
tell such stories, she shall go no more 
into low company, but feast with us in 
our chief banquet hall, and sleep in one 
of the best chambers of the palace!” 


CHAPTER IX 

PRINCE WISE WIT’S RETURN 

Snowflower was delighted at the 
promise of feasting with those noble 
lords and ladies, whose wonderful sto- 
ries she had heard from the chair. Her 
courtesy was twice as low as usual, and 
she thanked King Winwealth from the 
bottom of her heart. All the company 
were glad to make room for her, and 
when her golden girdle was put on, lit- 
tle Snowflower looked as fine as the best 
of them. 

“ Mamma,” whispered the Princess 
Grreedalind, while she looked ready to 

cry for spite, “only see that low little 
262 


PRINCE WISE WIT’S RETURN 263 

girl who came here in a coarse frock 
and barefooted, what finery and favor 
she has gained by her story-telling 
chair! All the court are praising her 
and overlooking me, though the feast 
was made in honor of my birthday. 
Mamma, I must have that chair from 
her. What business has a common lit- 
tle girl with anything so amusing V’ 

“So you shall, my daughter, ” said 
Queen Wantall — for by this time she 
saw that King Win wealth had, accord- 
ing to custom, fallen asleep on his 
throne. So calling two of her pages, 
Screw and Hardhands, she ordered 
them to bring the chair from the other 
end of the hall where Snowflower sat, 
and directly made it a present to Prin- 
cess Greedalind. 

Nobody in that court ever thought of 
disputing Queen Wantall ’s commands, 


264 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


and poor Snowflower sat down to cry 
in a corner ; while Princess Greedalind, 
putting on what she thought a very 
grand air, laid down her head on the 
cushion, saying — 

“ Chair of my grandmother, tell me a 
story.” 

Where did you get a grand- 
mother?” cried the clear voice from 
under the cushion; and up went the 
chair with such force as to throw Prin- 
cess Greedalind off on the floor, where 
she lay screaming, a good deal more 
angry than hurt. 

All the courtiers tried in vain to com- 
fort her. But Queen Wantall, whose 
temper was still worse, vowed that she 
would punish the impudent thing, and 
sent for Sturdy, her chief woodman, to 
chop it up with his ax. 

At the first stroke the cushion was 


PRINCE WISEWIT’S RETURN 265 



Prince Wisewit, disguised as a bird, escapes out of 
the window. 


cut open, and, to the astonishment of 
everybody, a bird, whose snow-white 
feathers were tipped with purple, 
darted out and flew away through an 
open window. 

“ Catch it! catch it!” cried the queen 



266 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

and the princess ; and all but King Win- 
wealth, who still slept on his throne, 
rushed out after the bird. It flew over 
the palace garden and into a wild com- 
mon, where houses had been before 
Queen Wantall pulled them down to 
search for a gold mine, which her maj- 
esty never found, though three deep 
pits were dug to come at it. To make 
the place look smart at the feast time 
these pits had been covered over with 
loose boughs and turf. All the rest of 
the company remembered this but Queen 
Wantall and Princess Greedalind. 
They were nearest to the bird, and poor 
Snowflower, by running hard, came 
close behind them, but Fairfortune, the 
king’s first page, drew her back by the 
purple mantle, when, coming to the 
covered pit, boughs and turf gave way, 


PRINCE WISE WIT’S RETURN 267 


and down went the queen and the prin- 
cess. 

Everybody looked for the bird, but it 
was nowhere to be seen ; but on the com- 
mon where they saw it alight, there 
stood a fair and royal prince, clad in a 
robe of purple and a crown of changing 
colors, for sometimes it seemed of gold 
and sometimes of forest leaves. 

Most of the courtiers stood not know- 
ing what to think, but all the fairy peo- 
ple and all the lords and ladies of the 
chair’s stories, knew him, and cried, 
“ Welcome to Prince Wisewit!” 

King Winwealth heard that sound 
where he slept, and came out glad of 
heart to welcome back his brother. 
When the lord high chamberlain and 
her own pages came out with ropes and 
lanthorns to search for Queen Wantall 


268 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


and Princess Greedalind, they found 
them safe and well at the bottom of the 
pit, having fallen on a heap of loose 
sand. The pit was of great depth, but 
some daylight shone down, and what- 
ever were the yellow grains they saw 
glittering among the sand, the queen 
and the princess believed it was full of 
gold. 

' They called the miners false knaves, 
lazy rogues, and a score of bad names 
beside, for leaving so much wealth be- 
hind them, and utterly refused to come 
out of the pit ; saying, that since Prince 
Wisewit was come, they could find no 
pleasure in the palace, but would stay 
there and dig for gold, and buy the 
world with it for themselves. King 
Winwealth thought the plan was a good 
one for keeping peace in his palace. 
He commanded shovels and picks to be 


PRINCE WISE WIT’S RETURN 269 

lowered to the queen and the princess. 
The two pages, Screw and Hardhands, 
went down to help them, in hopes of 
halving the profits, and there they 
stayed, digging for gold. Some of the 
courtiers said they would find it ; others 
believed they never could ; and the gold 
was not found when this story was writ- 
ten. 

As for Prince Wisewit, he went home 
with the rest of the company, leading 
Snowflower by the hand, and telling 
them all how he had been turned into a 
bird by the cunning fairy Portunetta, 
who found him off his guard in the 
forest ; how she had shut him up under 
the cushion of that curious chair, and 
given it to old Dame Frostyface; and 
how all his comfort had been in little 
Snowflower, to whom he told so many 
stories. 


270 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


King Winwealth was so rejoiced to 
find Ms brother again, that he com- 
manded another feast to be held for 
seven days. All that time the gates of 
the palace stood open; all comers were 
welcome, all complaints heard. The 
houses and lands which Queen Wantall 
had taken away were restored to their 
rightful owners. Everybody got what 
they most wanted. There were no 
more clamors without, nor discontents 
within the palace; and on the seventh 
day of the feast who should arrive but 
Dame Frostyface, in her gray hood and 
mantle. 

Snowflower was right glad to see her 
grandmother — so were the king and 
prince, for they had known the Dame 
in her youth. They kept the feast for 
seven days more ; and when it was ended 
everything was right in the kingdom. 


PRINCE WISEWIT’S RETURN 271 

King Winwealth and Prince Wise wit 
reigned once more together; and be- 
cause Snowflower was the best girl in 
all that country, they chose her to be 
their heiress, instead of Princess Greed- 
alind. From that day forward she 
wore white velvet and satin; she had 
seven pages, and lived in the grandest 
part of the palace. Dame Frostyface, 
too, was made a great lady. They put 
a new velvet cushion on her chair, and 
she sat in a gown of gray cloth, edged 
with gold, spinning on an ivory wheel 
in a fine painted parlor. Prince Wise- 
wit built a great summer-house covered 
with vines and roses, on the spot where 
her old cottage stood. He also made a 
highway through the forest, that all 
good people might come and go there at 
their leisure; and the cunning fairy 
Fortunetta finding that her reign was 


272 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

over in those parts, set off on a journey 
round the world, and did not return in 
the time of this story. Good hoys and 
girls, who may chance to read it, that 
time is long ago. Great wars, work, 
and learning, have passed over the 
world since then, and altered all its 
fashions. Kings make no seven-day 
feasts for all comers now. Queens and 
princesses, however greedy, do not 
mine for gold. Chairs tell no tales. 
"Wells work no wonders; and there are 
no such doings on hills and forests, for 
the fairies dance no more. Some say it 
was the hum of schools — some think it 
was the din of factories that frightened 
them; hut nobody has been known to 
have seen them for many a year, except, 
it is said, one Hans Christian Andersen, 
in Denmark, whose tales of the fairies 


PRINCE WISE WIT’S RETURN 273 


are so good that they must have been 
heard from the fairies themselves. 

It is certain that no living man 
knows the subsequent history of King 
Winwealth’s country, nor what became 
of all the notable characters who lived 
and visited at his palace. Yet there are 
people who believe that the monarch 
still falls asleep on his throne, and into 
low spirits after supper; that Queen 
Wantall and Princess Greedalind have 
found the gold, and begun to buy; that 
Dame Frostyface yet spins — they can- 
not tell where; that Snowflower may 
still be seen at the new year’s time in 
her dress of white velvet, looking out 
for the early spring; that Prince Wise- 
wit has somehow fallen under a stronger 
spell and a thicker cushion, that he still 
tells stories to Snowflower and her 


274 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

friends, and when both cushion and 
spell are broken by another stroke of 
Sturdy’s hatchet — which they expect 
will happen some time — the prince will 
make all things right again, and bring 
back the fairy times to the world. 


A STORY ABOUT THE AUTHOR 
OF THIS BOOK 


Nearly one hundred years ago the 
writer of these fairy stories was born 
in a little village in Donegal, Ireland. 
There were twelve brothers and sisters 
in the family, the mother and father 
were very poor, and this little girl, 
Frances, was blind from babyhood. 
There was not very much that her par- 
ents could do for her with the six 
older brothers and sisters to provide 
for, and the five younger ones. She 
must do her share of the household 
tasks while her blindness kept her from 
a fair share of the few pleasures that 
they could enjoy 

In one of the stories that Frances 

275 


276 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


wrote later we find what must be a good 
picture of her mother. “Well I re- 
member her old blue gown, her hands 
hard with rough work, her still girlish 
figure and small, pale face, from which 
the bloom and the prettiness had gone 
so early; but the hard hand had in its 
kindly pressure the only genuine love 
I ever knew ; the pale face looks yet on 
my sleep with a blessing, and the old 
gown has turned, in my dreams, to the 
radiant robe of an angel. ” 

Amid these circumstances of poverty 
and sorrow Frances Browne found the 
beginnings of happiness and success, 
and she did it with the aid of the fair- 
ies. Indeed, it may not be hard to 
write about fairies when one has known 
some of them so well. Three of the 
most powerful of the fairy folk that 
ever busied themselves in the affairs of 


A STORY ABOUT THE AUTHOR 277 

human beings were friends to her from 
her childhood. One of them was named 
Courage, and another Persistence. 
These two helped her to overcome pov- 
erty and lack of opportunity. But the 
third fairy brought her sight! Not 
with her eyes, for they never grew well, 
but a sight in spite of blindness. The 
name of this fairy was Imagination. 

Nowadays we have books for the 
blind and classes for them in our 
schools, with teachers who can help 
them to gain all of the knowledge more 
fortunate children may possess. But 
then there were no such teachers, and 
if there had been any such books the 
Brownes were too poor to buy them. 
But that powerful fairy named Per- 
sistence overcame all this. Some of 
the older children in the family found 
time for school, and when they brought 


278 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 

their books home Frances persuaded 
them to study aloud. She listened to 
their lessons, worked over their prob- 
lems with them, and with the help of 
her powerful fairy friend Imagination, 
saw the pictures that they saw and was 
the quickest learner of them all. 

She tells us how at night when every- 
one else was asleep, she would say the 
day’s lessons over to herself. Often 
she would persuade the other children 
to read to her whatever books could be 
found by promising to do their shares 
of the housework. There were no 
bookshops in her home village of Stan- 
olar or in all the county, but everyone 
in the village was her friend, and those 
who had books lent them to her. 

So as she grew older she came to hear 
many of the best books; though she 


A STORY ABOUT THE AUTHOR 279 

could not see through her own eyes she 
began to know the world through the 
eyes and thoughts of some of the great 
men and women who had lived before 
her. She loved the poets best, and 
among those dearest to her were Homer, 
Byron and Scott. 

When only seven years old Frances 
Browne wrote a poem of her own, and 
from then on, until she was fifteen she 
often wrote down her thoughts. But 
at the age of fifteen one of her fairies 
must have deserted her for a while ; she 
lost the courage to write. It seemed to 
her that she could never write as did 
the poets she loved so well, and her own 
efforts appeared worthless. For ten 
years she went on with her home work 
and her studies. Then one day some- 
one read her a book of Irish songs and 
these inspired her to try writing again. 


280 GRANNY’S WONDERFUL CHAIR 


Courage and confidence returned and 
she wrote earnestly and steadily. 

When she was twenty-eight a book of 
her poems was published and the first 
money she earned was spent in educat- 
ing a younger sister. Not long after, 
with that sister as her secretary, for she 
needed someone to lend her eyes, she 
went to the great city of Edinburgh to 
earn her own living. 

All that she did there, and all that 
she wrote you may learn about at an- 
other time, if you care to inquire. She 
never found time for idleness, and the 
years did not bring her riches of gold 
and silver. But she found many 
friends as she worked, and much happi- 
ness. And always, because she had 
fairy friends, she loved to write stories 
for children. 








I 


















